Mlle Fox Presents POTC3: At World's End
by Mlle. Phoenix Fox
Summary: JOC WE SOME JE ROMANCE My predictions of how the third movie should and might go. MAJOR SPOILERS INSIDE!
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: Okay, I might be getting on the bandwagon here, and ya'll might hate me for starting a new story when I haven't updated a lot of my old ones, but I saw DMC today and I HAD to write my version of what will happen next! Because one, I'm sick of all the Jack/Elizabeth oneshots reflecting on The Kiss, two I still don't think Jack and Elizabeth could ever be a couple because they're too alike, three, Disney would not break poor Will's heart like that, that would just make a another story arch. And four...I saw a little clue in DMC that I think may explain so much. So this story is basically my predictions for the thrid movie. And don't you J/E shippers worry, I'll include some of that junk too, but W/E action will occur as will J/OC...cause I'm an OC kinda gal, Savvy?_**

**_On that note, I must explain the OC Arabella Morgan is slightly based on the Disney Press book character from the Jack Sparrow series by Rob Kidd. Mostly her backstory. But since that series has just begun, and we don't know where that's headed, I think it's safe to say myArabella is an OC. _**

**_So read, review and enjoy...cause we've got another ten months before Disney helps us off that cliffhanger they threw at us!_**

**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

**_ps: Doesn't anyone want to enter my fanart contest?_**

* * *

Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End

Captain Jack Sparrow is dead. Captain Hector Barbossa is alive. Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann are on the skids. And now they must all sail to the ends of the Earth to rescue Jack and the Black Pearl from their watery grave. But Barbossa knows this meager crew is going to need some major help. He calls in Arabella Morgan, Lady Pirate Extraordinaire. Turns out this tough talking, cigar smoking, whip carrying Welsh redhead has a few secrets of her own. First of which is her soft spot for Jack. Second is she's under a terrible curse that strikes only when the moon is full. Thirdly, she knows a secret about Davy Jones that just may save them and all pirates everywhere.

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! PLUS SOME OF MINE OWN THEORIES OF HOW THE THRID MOVIE WILL GO, SAVVY? DON'T OWN A THING BUT MY OC; WILL FEATURE W/E, J/E, AND J/OC ROMANCE.

* * *

Captain Hector Barbossa was no naïve fool. This crew of seven was hardly seaworthy. What he wouldn't give to be command of the Pearl again! Then he smirked to himself knowing that if all went according to plan, he very well would be and soon. Once again he took stock of his ship mates as they sailed around the bay towards Tortuga. Joshamee Gibbs, that barrel chested Scotsman with the graying muttonchops was a bit of a drunk, but he knew how to work a crew and command as a first mate. The bald midget Marty made up for his physical shortcomings (pardon the pun) with his quick wit and willingness to work and follow command. The mute Cotton was old, hard to understand with that bloody parrot he trained to speak for him, but loyal. Then with a roll of his eyes Barbossa evaluated the two mates he knew the best. Of all his old crew from the Pearl to survive the noose, why'd it have to be those two nits Pintel and Ragetti? Together they had one brain. They even complimented each other in appearance. Pintel being short, fat and bald and Ragetti being tall, skinny with shaggy hair. They only truly special thing about them was Ragetti had a wooden eye. Stupid git kept dropping it all the time too...or Barbossa's monkey Jack would steal it.

Then there was the whelp, Will Turner. A lot had changed in the boy, that Barbossa could tell. He was smarter, more confident, stronger. And with a little wonder Barbossa concluded he was wiser too. For no man is truly wise until they see a female for who they really are. And apparently, Will had discovered something about the fair Miss Elizabeth Swann his fiancée, for the lad was cold as ice towards the girl right now. They hadn't spoken a word with each other since they left the mystic Tia Dalma. And that had been over a week ago. Miss Swann herself wasn't saying much either. But Barbossa sensed guilt radiating off her and keeping her silent. And he resolved that by the end of this adventure, he would learn what that guilt came from. Guilt leads to lovely profit.

But first they had to rescue that rat, Jack Sparrow. Barbossa found great irony in that. Everyone on board mistrusted him right now, thinking he was in this only to kill Jack once he saved him. But the truth of the matter was Jack Sparrow was his ticket to a second shot at life. Tia Dalma had revived him from the dead, but on the condition that he must help save Jack Sparrow and once he'd done that, never bring or bring cause to harm him. If he didn't honor that promise to not kill Jack or set something else up to kill Jack, it'd be back to the grave. But the lovely mystic never said anything about claiming the Pearl for himself once they rescued her. He loved loopholes.

Finally docking their small fishing boat at the docks of Tortuga, Will walked up to Barbossa and asked, showing no sincere respect in his tone,

"Alright, we're here...Now what do we need in Tortuga that will help us save Jack?" Barbossa grinned at the boy before heading down towards the lowered gangplank,

"Not what, Mr. Turner...who!" Will and Elizabeth exchanged a confused glance as they followed behind Barbossa, leaving Gibbs in command of the supplies.

* * *

The fishing boat had anchored itself in the open ocean, casting their nets out, farming the ocean beds for her rich crops. One sailor commented to the captain as he pasted by, 

"Sir...a large animal seems to have met their end. Bits and pieces be floating around in the water." The captain, a middle aged merchant sailor nodded and ordered,

"If it's still fresh and not rotted out, haul it in. Might make for good meat." The crew did as commanded, but astonishment and curiosity caused creases in their brows as they hauled up huge tentacles, bloody chunks of slimy meat and large internal organs. But the largest of them all was the animal's stomach. They hauled up the heavy thing, every man on board pulling the net in. They lowered it to the deck and untangled the nets from it. A sailor was about to start slicing the thing to manageable pieces, when a cutlass poked through the stomach, from the inside out. The crew yelled in terror and backed up slowly as the cutlass sawed and hacked a large slit in the side. The sword disappeared and then suddenly , jeweled hand covered in slime shot out, followed by an arm, then a shoulder, then a head covered in dreadlocks, beadings, and a red bandanna.

"HHAAHHAAHHHH!" gasped the man taking a large breath of fresh air before the rest of him fell out the opening.

"He's alive! Pull him out!" shouted the Captain as his men bent over to haul the tall, slim man in worn, and now slimy clothes to his tanned Cavalier boot covered feet. They man with high cheekbones, scruffy bread and mustache, Roman nose blinked his brown eyes from the sunlight as the Captain spoke to him,

"Sir? Sir are you alright?" The man tried to focus his fuzzy world on the owner of the voice as he answered in a slurred, but precise Cockney,

"Is this Davy Jones Locker?" The crew gasped and muttered to themselves, as they're Captain answered confused,

"Uh...no..."

"Is this hell? Purgatory?"

"No...what makes you think it is?" the Captain asked wondering if his ship and crew were at risk. Confusion now graced the handsome survivor's face,

"Am I not dead?" The Captain smiled,

"No sir...Thanks to the Lord Almighty, you have been granted a mercy like Jonah's, rescued from the belly of a beast." The man paused in thought, before crossing himself and lifting the fingers to his temple in a salute towards the heavens,

"So I have...what day is this?"

"Well...May 8th...Thursday." the Captain answered.

"Same year?" the stranger asked. Then he turned and the crew watched in stunned silence as he reached in the beast's belly and pulled out a slime covered brown leather tricorne.

"If you mean the year of our Lord 1676, then yes...why? How long were you in there?" the Captain asked as the man put the hat on his head. It suited him.

"Since last Wednesday Mate...now if you'll excuse me..." And with that, the stranger's brown eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fainted back into the crew's arm.

"Captain! What do we do with him?" asked one man.

"Place him in my cabin. Richards, take three of the men and clean him up, treat any wounds and get some food and drink in him." the Captain ordered as the rest of the crew returned to their duties.

"But sir! He must be bad luck! What if whatever caused him to go overboard and into the innards of a beast comes after us?" asked the man Richards. The captain looked at the curious and unconscious stranger and said,

"Then we'll place him in a place that could stand a little bad luck...Tortuga..."

* * *

James Norrington breathed in the fresh sea air trying not to think about the week before. He knew he had sold out Sparrow, Turner and Elizabeth...but he could not handle being in that world...that world he hated...that world that took his family away...The world of Pirates. 

He tried to tell himself that being a privateer for the East Indian Trading Company was not the same as being a pirate. But tomorrow he would set sail under the strict orders of Lord Beckett to locate the Flying Dutchmen and approach Davy Jones himself. A week ago he scoffed at the idea of the famed character of myth and legend. But Jones cursed crew, looking like the sea bed itself was all Norrington needed to convince him the truth. It seemed the Caribbean was full of magic and supernatural elements few men dare dream of. And though in his previous adventurers he had not seen Davy Jones face to face, he knew very soon he would and have to be on his guard.

As if on cue to turn his mood worst, Cutler Beckett walked up beside him to look out onto the ocean horizon. The short, well dressed man looked down at the ships in the harbor and pointed out a fourteen gunner at the end,

"There she is Captain...The Lady Virginia. How do you like her? She can do twelve knots in an hour."

"I'm sure she will be satisfactory." Norrington said tight lipped. A week ago he thought all he had to do was turn in Davy Jones heart and the Letters of Marque and he'd be appointed the Commodore once more. But such would not be the case. Letters of Marque meant he was back to being a Captain, and a Captain under the power of Lord Beckett. Now he understood why Sparrow spoke of him with disdain. The man was a weasily little prick, always smug and sure of his power. Now he even had Governor Swann under his thumb, using him as a puppet to control Port Royal. Norrington already could see the East India Company favored with better tariffs, better trade, better goods. Greed and money were beginning to corrupt Port Royal as the common masses struggled to survive and keep some of their hard earned wages from going into East India Agents and Merchants. Norrington knew it was only a matter of time before crime would run rampant in Port Royal.

His thoughts drifted back to the Black Pearl for a moment. Yes he hated Sparrow...but he had to admit the man was a brilliant Captain and sailor. And Norrington had been surprised to learn there was a democracy on board like that of the ancient Greeks. Every man got a vote in the activities of the crew...even him. He turned up the corner of his lips in a small smile as he remembered the pirate's quip when Norrington had shown surprise for being included in the vote,

"_Come come James...afraid to vote and admit you've gone on account?" _James Norrington wondered about that. Was he a pirate after all? He was shaken from his musings when Beckett said coldly,

"Are you even listening, Norrington?" Norrington looked at the man,

"Sir?"

"I said...bring me back Davy Jones...he's the only one who can command the sea...the only one the pirates fear...and should you cross paths again...bring me Jack Sparrow..." Beckett said his eyes glaring.

"I thought you no longer needed his compass now that you had Jones heart?" Norrington asked. Becket turned his glare to the horizon,

"We have other scores to settle...Sparrow and I...Just save him for me..."

* * *

Barbossa grinned and looked around in amusement. He laughed and told Will and Elizabeth, 

"My Ol' Tortuga's changed! Half the buildings I knew are gone, old shacks made of ship parts in their stead...Still...good to be alive again and able to enjoy it!"

"I'm sure...who is this person we're trying to find?" Elizabeth asked.

"Ah...straight to business as always Miss Swann. But to answer your question, the person we are referring to is the sharpest, steadiest and craftiest pirate since myself and Jack Sparrow." Barbossa answered,

"Captain!" Will and Elizabeth corrected him at once. Barbossa rolled his eyes as he led them inside the Faithful Bride. The crowd was just as raunchy, drunk and loud and rollicking as it always was. Barbossa scanned the crowd hoping for a familiar face, when he grinned seeing a redhead in a red dress.

"Scarlett!" he called the wench over.

"Scarlett?" asked Elizabeth hoping the wench wasn't the pirate while Will distanced himself between himself and the woman. Scarlett smiled seductively and battered her eyelashes,

"Why Hector Barbossa...thought you was dead!"

"I was dead...but now I'm living and need information...Know where I can find Morgan?" Barbossa asked.

"You're in luck. Morgan sailed in port last night. She's over in the corner playing cards."Scarlett answered pointing in the general direction.

"She?" asked Will.

"Scarlett...you're an angel of heaven itself! Save a dance for me next time I pull into port?" Barbossa said kissing her hand. Scarlett laughed before slinking away,

"Always...you remember to pay..." When she had gone, Barbossa set his sights on the corner when Will held him back by the arm,

"She? This pirate is a woman?"

"Piracy you'll find...is an equal opportunity profession, Mr. Turner...Come." Barbossa said leading the way. A table with four men holding cards also held a petite red headed woman with ivory skin, just slightly tanned by the sun. She dressed in black wool breeches, a worn red Chinese silk waistcoat with the frog clasp closings, a stolen gray coat of the Spanish navy and tall black boots from an English marine that came up past her knee. In her full lips she smoked a thin Cuban cigar. Her red hair was in a French braid and her cool chestnut eyes were looking lazily at the cards she held in her hands. She tossed two coins in and said,

"I'm in two bits...Gents...what's the name of the game?" A fat pirate with a large floppy hat replied stupidly,

"Gin?" With a smirk she laid her cards on the table and began to collect the pot as the other players groaned in defeat. Barbossa said from behind her,

"Arabella Morgan! Ain't you a sight for sore eyes!" She took a long drag on her cigar and then took the cigar out in one hand, not lifting her eyes from her money as she used her left hand to place the money in the coin purse.

"Hector Barbossa...heard you were dead." she said in a breathy Welsh accent.

"Vicious rumor. As you can plainly see by my standing here, and hear by listening to my voice flapping in the breeze, I'm definitely alive and well and not shot in the heart like some people might be inclined to believe." Barbossa said as she stood and turned to face them. She crossed her arms over her chest, taking another long drag of her cigar. She looked at Barbossa and his two young companions before saying,

"Oh I knew it was a rumor..." She began to walk past Barbossa saying right in his face, "Because you don't have a heart..." Then she blew a smoke ring right in Elizabeth's face. As Elizabeth hacked up a lung, Barbossa followed Arabella as she weaved her way through the bar,

"Arabella lass! How'd you like an adventure?"

"What's the profit?" Arabella asked knocking some ashes into a pirates hat as she past.

"Well there's no gold to be made if that's what you mean." Barbossa replied.

"Gold? Gold is no longer the wealth of kings Barbossa. You can't trade gold for more than a wench and a rum these days. No nowadays all you need to earn your fortune is a barrel of spice, a keg of fine wine, silks, cotton, fine china, arms...no Barbossa...give me something I can trade and make my profits on...not gold...not jewels...more practical things." Arabella replied cutting them off but stepping up into a chair and tipping it back and stepping down. Barbossa had to fight a moment to go between two crowds of fights, when Will interrupted, .

"Then what's more practical than a man's life?"

"Stand down boy!" ordered Barbossa.

"And what man might that be?" asked Arabella turning to them and stopping before the bar.

"Captain Jack Sparrow..."Will replied.

"Never heard of him." Arabella said.

"But Arabella..."Barbossa started.

"Sorry Hector...you have the wrong girl and you've been away too long. I know no Jack Sparrow...Barkeep! Pint of grog!" Arabella ordered sitting on a soon and leaning an elbow on the counter. But as her Chinese silk waistcoat was pulled open a bit, Elizabeth's honey eyes caught the markings of a very familiar tattoo. She stepped forward and pulled the clothing off Arabella's right shoulder.

"HEY! Get off me git!" Arabella spat at Elizabeth. Seeing the blue ink tattoo of a sparrow flying over an ocean horizon against a setting sun, the name 'Arabella' written in cursive script below the picture, Elizabeth looked the redhead right in the eye and said,

"You do know Jack...That's his special seal!" Arabella glared at Elizabeth and shook her off, adjusting her clothes,

"What if I do? As far as I'm concerned, Jack Sparrow is dead to me!" She began to stomp off and up the stairs to the rooms of the inn, when Barbossa called after her in a serious tone,

"Jack Sparrow is dead, Pet..." Arabella stopped, clutching the railing till her knuckles turned white.

"What?" she whispered stunned.

"Jack is trapped in Davy's Jones Locker Arabella." Barbossa told her. Arabella turned her head to the side,

"So...it's been thirteen years...Told Jack no ship was worth his soul."

"Will you help us?" asked Will. Arabella turned and dropped her cigar to the landing, rubbing it out with her boot.

"Aye..."she nodded, "I'll help ye."


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Hope you enjoy...tell me what you think about Arabella and the person from POTC1 I'm bringing back...hee hee hee..._**

****

**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

* * *

Captain James Norrington looked over his new crew. Some common laborers were mixed in with EIC military sailors. The ship was in perfect order, just as he liked it. They were preparing to make way when Norrington bumped into one of his crew mates.

"I apologize, sailor." Norrington said distracted.

"Don't mention it." said the feminine voice. James blinked and then looked at the figure standing before him. He lifted the floppy hat to find himself looking into a pair of warm brown eyes. Beautiful cat like eyes. The mulatto woman smirked at him and said,

"Paint a portrait it will last longer."

"You're a woman?" asked Norrington.

"I'm a sailor first. And I was hired same as everyone else. Who be you?" the woman glared at him.

"CAPTAIN James Norrington...Miss?" James replied smugly. The woman blanched at insulting her commanding officer before ducking her head and replying,

"Anamaria..."

"No last name?" he asked.

"Slave owners don't give them out and I didn't want to claim his..." she said coldly. Norrington looked away this time.

"Sorry..."

"Norrington...didn't you use to be Commodore at the fort?" she asked suspicious. Norrington looked at her and said sarcastically,

"I use to be...now I'm Lord Beckett's golden retriever. Anymore questions Miss Anamaria?"

"No sir." Anamaria said shaking her head.

"Good. Carry on then." Norrington ordered walking off to inspect the rest of the ship. Anamaria couldn't help but glance at the large leather pouch he carried on his belt. She could have sworn she heard a heartbeat.

* * *

_Auburn. Her hair had been auburn. As red as a sailor's sunset he use to say. His hands tangled himself in those long precious waves of hers as she sat on his lap giggling. _

"_Jack...I mean...Captain Sparrow...you're about to sail out..." she told him with a breathy Welsh accent. He continued to kiss her neck muttering into her ear, _

"_We can always stow ye away. And I know the perfect way for you to earn your keep..." _

"_Jack...we promised each other...Besides...you of all stowaways know it's not a pleasant experience." she told him looking into his deep brown eyes. They sat in his new captain's cabin, with bay windows lining the walls, his bunk under one of these windows on the side. How tempted was he to pick her up and ravish her on said bunk? But a promise was a promise..._

_Looking at his fiancée as they sat together at his round desk, Jack told her, _

"_I know...but meeting a clever as a whip barmaid in Tortuga more than made up for it." She snuggled into his neck, _

"_Oh Jack...I'm going to miss you so much. Must you see Tia Dalma?" Sensing the jealously in her tone, he pulled her back and looked her square in the eye. _

"_Now Luv, don't fret. Mr. Beckett gave me the Wicked Wench on the agreement I got to keep her once I got this compass he wants from Tia. " _

"_I know...but Jack she's always...leering at you...like a side of beef..." she said disgusted at the idea._

"_Hey I can handle her, remember?" Jack reminded her._

"_Sure you want me to stay behind?" she asked him. He sighed and nodded, _

"_Aye...you have to get our house ready for the wedding and the rest of our lives, Savvy?" She smiled and rubbed her forehead with his, _

"_Who'd of thought two years ago I would love you as I do now? That being ship wrecked on this island together, poor as church mice and needing each other to survive would make us closer? Sometimes I miss those days on the Barnacle when we were still in blessed ignorance of our feelings for each other. Loving you has proved hazardous to my health Jack Sparrow!" He chuckled pecking her lips to his, _

"_Captain, Luv...CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow!" _

Jack woke with a start from the warm bunk he had been sleeping in. As he calmed his racing heart, he groaned inside. Not the dreams...not again...He sat up, barely noticing he had a fresh pair of trousers, borrowed from the crew more likely. He was clean and smelling better than he had ever smelled in a long time. Of course anything was better than the breath of that beastie. Whoo! He saw his clothes and effects were on the table of what he assumed was the captain's cabin. Clean as well. He began to pull on his boots thinking about the last week and all that happened before.

He was alive. He had survived that creature with a tentacle for every tooth. Somebody up there must like him. Jack even mused to himself that maybe the Christ himself just wanted him to get up there to tell him of his adventures for all eternity. It was a comforting thought.

But why those dreams? Why those dreams of such joy they caused him pain? Why were they haunting him once more? He knew why. Because of stupid, ruddy Elizabeth Swann. And her stupid, ruddy way of being right about things. And her stupid, ruddy ability to think like him and catch him off his guard. And her stupid, ruddy kiss. That kiss had brought along with it so many memories. Sure he was attracted to her. More attracted to her than any wench he had met in Tortuga. He even thought for a moment back on the Black Pearl that she just might be the lass he could let into his heart. A spot he had only reserved for one other woman. A woman who was a lot like Elizabeth in many ways. A woman who had been dead these thirteen years.

"Arabella..." he whispered to himself. He hadn't spoken that name in so long. Then he remembered Will. He couldn't do that to the whelp. Because A, Will would kill him. B, he and Elizabeth could never truly be. C, Will would kill him and D, Will would kill him. And Jack hated to be killed. He was about to put on his clothes, when he picked up his white shirt from the stack. With a panic, he looked down at himself and saw he was wearing nothing but bandages and a few new scars.

"Oh bugger..." he said realizing they had seen his pirate brand. He quickly dressed, carefully creeping up to the door and peeking out at the working fishermen. He wondered if he could make off with one of their lifeboats when he heard behind him,

"Going somewhere...pirate?" The click of a pistol was what Jack heard as he turned around. That was when Jack noticed the second door heading up to the quarterdeck, and the captain aiming his gun straight at Jack's heart. Jack gulped before saying cheerfully,

"No...unless I'm taking too much room which by all means I'd be happy to relive myself of your presence Sir."

"Listen very carefully...I was going to drop you off at Tortuga..." the captain said as Jack smiled."But I think I'll just maroon you instead." Jack's face fell.

"Maroon? As in...leave me with nothing but my pistol and a single shot? That kind of marooning?" Jack asked.

"No...we'll leave you with some supplies and food. Hopefully you can barter passage from a nearby ship. I realized when you're identity was revealed that dropping a pirate off at Tortuga would only look bad on my part as if you took passage from me." he captain explained.

"No worst than dropping off an innocent stranger in a vicious pirate port all by his onesies..." Jack mused.

"I'm sorry...but this is the way things must be. My crew threatens to mutiny if I don't have you punished in some form for being a pirate." the captain said. Jack nodded and smiled,

"Know the feeling myself, mate."

* * *

Barbossa sat on a barrel eating a large green apple as Will paced nearby. He kept glancing to the main street of Tortuga, watching for any sign of the redhead.

"She'll be here mate. We told her to come at nine sharp when the tide goes out." Barbossa told him. Will stopped pacing and asked the older pirate,

"How does Miss Morgan know Jack exactly?" Barbossa shrugged,

"Don't rightly know the tale myself. I figured they must have had something cooking once...much like...you and Miss Elizabeth..." Will looked away and began to pace again, his light brown eyes holding back anger. After a moments silence, Barbossa asked the boy,

"What did she do to you Lad? What vexed you so?" Will glared at Barbossa,

"I make a point of avoiding private matters with men who tried to kill me." Barbossa nodded,

"Fair enough." Then he shifted his eyes to the streets and smiled, "Ah...there she is now!" Will turned and saw the redhead, with a leather bag slung over her shoulder.

"Good day Miss Morgan." Will told her. She nodded and looked to the same fishing boat at the end of the dock.

"Barbossa. Please tell me that dilapidated piece of sea horse poo ain't our ship?" Arabella asked the tall scruffy pirate. Barbossa told her,

"It was all they had down at the Blue Bayou."

"Why not just ask the illustrious Tia Dalma to conjure up something?" Arabella asked with a snide jealous streak lacing her tone.

"Apparently you have to pay extra." Barbossa quipped.

"Ah! Glad to hear she hasn't changed!" Arabella grinned.

"So are ye ready to cast off on our noble quest to rescue friend and foe, Arabella?" Barbossa asked her with a dramatic flare. She looked at Barbossa a moment before tossing her bag to Will and telling him,

"Here Turner. Make yourself useful and take my items to the ship. We'll be along in a bit.": Will nodded but eyed each of them suspiciously. If being friends or whatever he was with Jack Sparrow had taught him anything, it was this...never trust a pirate. As he walked back to the ship, he mused to himself that even included a certain fiancée. Arabella watched the lad go, before asking Barbossa,

"Alright Hector. Why do you really need me along anyhow? Being dead for about a year must have made you more than capable of handling the supernatural. So why need me?"

"I'll answer all your questions in my cabin..."Barbossa said trying to walk ahead. She stopped him with her commanding voice,

"No...now...Why?" Barbossa sighed and told her,

"Because only you know Captain Sao Feng, Pet..." Arabella grew uncomfortable and gingerly touched her stomach as if feeling for something. Then her cool demeanor returned and she said,

"So what part of the good Captain's collection of supernatural gadgetry do we need?"

"A map...to the Devil's Gate..." Barbossa answered watching Arabella's eyes widen with recognition. He added, "You've heard of it."

"The portal Hob and everything evil uses to travel to Purgatory and beyond...I've caught a glimpse...Have you told them?" Arabella asked nodding towards the crew. Barbossa shook his head,

"Not yet..."

"You better get to it...Ignorance ain't always bliss." Arabella said looking out to the sea as she said this.

"We will once we get underway and into open water." Barbossa said.

"Do we have any cannons on that floating shipwreck?" Arabella asked.

"One...why?" Barbossa asked.

"If we're facing down Sao Feng...we're gonna need it." Arabella said darkly.

* * *

The Lady Virgina was finally out on the open seas. It felt good to be a Captain again...in command...in control. He had quickly shown his command and gained their respect, threatening to give them Moses Law if he even looked at them cross eyed. A year ago he would have never considered being that cruel, but times had changed. He had changed.

Looking down to the decks, Norrington watched his crew work and pull in sails and tie things down. But he often caught himself glancing at that Anamaria woman. She too had quickly established herself on board, letting every man know she was not their plaything. He had only come in at the end, but he had found the woman standing over a man holding his crushed organs between his legs in the center of the crew. Now no man dared look at her...no man except him that is.

She had taken off her hat and her long black hair was blowing behind her in the wind. She looked so in place, so in tuned with the sea.So very beautiful. Norrington tried to tell himself that the only woman he wanted was Elizabeth Swann. They were of the same class, same background, same social circles...at least they had been. Elizabeth now by every account was a pirate. And he wasn't even in the British navy anymore. Would the wealthy merchants invite him over to tea with their beautiful daughters and granddaughters? No. Would the noble classes ever again ask his opinion on the state of affairs in Europe? Not likely. So it wasn't very surprising to him that he found the beautiful black woman attractive. They were in the same boat as it were.

Norrington had been so lost in his musings, that he did not notice that behind them on the port side, three figures bobbed along in the water watching the ship past. Then they dived below the breaking whitecaps, their blue fins glistening in the sunlight.

* * *

Jack sighed as he watched the long boat row back to the fishing vessel. At least they had given him some supplies to hold him a while. The waves lapped up on the shore, wetting his boots, as he raised his eyebrows in a slight mental shrug, and walked back over to the small crate they had given him. Extra gunpowder...shot...food he could stretch out for six weeks if he had to...fresh water...old sails to use for shade...But nothing delighted him more than seeing an amber bottle of rum near the bottom. He raised his face to heaven and shouted,

"Thank you!" He pulled out the rum and set it aside muttering, "Least somebody round here cares about me.." Then he glance around to his left, and to his right at the empty beach..."Course, bring the only other presence here..." he shrugged returning to searching his supplies. He reached for the bottle of rum, but his hand felt nothing but sand. His hand scrambled in the sand trying to find it. He looked, eyes wide with panic, when a chattering came to his ears. He looked up and saw a little brown monkey with a long tale screech at him, waving the bottle over his monkey. Jack growled, pulled out his pistol and fired, missing the creature by inches. As the monkey ran off terrified into the jungle, Jack muttered hotly, beginning to run after it,

"Monkeys, monkeys, monkeys! I hate monkeys!" He fought the brush and the tree branches, keeping his sharp eyes peeled for the pesky little ape. He spotted a brown tail and fired twice before running ahead again. The monkey tossed the bottle to his little friend, who jumped when he saw the crazy looking human take aim at him. He hollered and ducked just as Jack fired again. Jack took after the two monkeys as they tossed the rum back and forth among the trees. Jack swung his gun back and forth trying to catch one of them, when he tripped on a log and fell face first in a shallow pond. He sputtered and shook his wet dreadlocks, before spotting the two monkeys watching him in curiousity. They screeched again when Jack fired his pistol at them, but to Jack's dismay the monkeys ducked out of the way and his last bullet hit the bottle instead.

"No no no! I didn't mean it...I didn't...aw forget it!" he shouted as the two monkeys ran off. He sighed and began to pick himself up from the pond, when the wind changed. The sky grew dark and thundered rolled. He looked from the sky to the water beneath him. It was beginning to swirl and glow a bright blue.

"Uh oh..." he muttered. He got to his feet and started to run toward the water's edge, when the whirlpool opened the earth up and Jack was pulled in below it yelling,

"HEELLLPPPP!"


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: Okay, corrected a major mistake in this chapter. Jack Sparrow cookies to whoever can tell me what it was! But guess what? That means you have to review!_**

****

**_Meanwhile, my one year anniversary is coming up on F . F . NET so PLEASE somebody enter my fan art contest! Drop me a line telling me your working on it anything! If you're interested, check out my profile for the rules._**

****

**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

* * *

The anchor of the small fishing boat was lowered and Barbossa called everyone into his cabin. Elizabeth kept glancing uneasily at Arabella. Did that tattoo mean she and Jack had once been lovers too? Why should Elizabeth keep her thoughts on a man who obviously bunked anything with a pulse? Because she had to admit to herself that Captain Jack Sparrow was one heck of a good kisser. And Elizabeth had killed him. She was brought back to the present when Barbossa asked them,

"So...any of you ever heard of the Devil's Triangle?"

"Aye..."Gibbs said before crossing himself and spitting."I've heard of it...an unnatural stretch of open water, deep as it is wide...no underwater mountains or coral beds...but ships keep getting lost there all the time. Lost to the Triangle till Judgment Day."

"Aye...but did you know that within the Triangle...there is a portal?" asked Barbossa.

"A portal? As in...to Hell and beyond?" asked Ragetti, his newfound pious ways making him nervous.

"Not quite...actually, the so called Devil's Gate...is simple a place that if you sail into it...the portal can take you anywhere you want to go..." Barbossa told them.

"How do you know this?" asked Will.

"It's a strange thing to die Young Turner...You hear everything, see everything and for a moment all the secrets of the universe are yours. I learned of the Devil's Gate true calling in my death...and I've learned who on this Earth yields the map to find it. A man whose used the Gate to sneak up on unsuspecting ships andleaves no prisoners alive for long." Barbossa said.

"Who's that?" asked Pintel.

"Captain Sao Feng...a Chinese pirate." Arabella spoke up.

"Ruthless, cunning, deadly...a match for any man...which is why I've brought in the only person who could match him...because she was a woman." Barbossa told them.

"You've faced this...Captain Feng before?" Will asked the redhead.

"Once...long ago..." Arabella said rubbing a hand across her midsection.

"Where does his ship make berth?" asked Marty.

"Singapore." Barbossa admitted.

"Singapore! That's..."Elizabeth started standing to her feet.

"On the other end of the world, Miss...which is exactly where we told Tia Dalma we'd go to save Jack." Barbossa countered her.

"Besides...we're in luck...this time of year, Feng likes to sail into the Caribbean. Using the portal I imagine...With any luck he'll bring his island." Arabella said.

"He has an island?" asked Pintel.

"He wanted to be a pirate king over his own pirate paradise...so he took the remains of ships he had scuttled and built for himself a floating island...It serves as his fort and prison. And every year he lets only a select few pirates of the Caribbean dock at his port. The map to the Devil's Gate will take us to wherever we want to go..." Arabella explained.

"Including Davy Jones Locker..."Will said with realization. Arabella nodded,

"And if we want the map, we need to sneak into Feng's island."

"But how?" Elizabeth asked.

"By taking Sao Feng...a prisoner..." Arabella answered.

"Likes to string them up and fly them as kites!" Barbossa quipped.

"DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES!" squawked Mr. Cotton's parrot. Arabella cast her eyes to look at the man and bird a moment before directing her cool gaze back to the group.

"So we take Sao Feng a prisoner...then what?" asked Elizabeth.

"Then said person will sneak out and into Feng's private gallery, take the map and get out." said Barbossa.

"But how will they get out without being seen?" asked Ragetti.

"That's where I come in. I traded a few things with Feng over the years, smuggled things for him. He'll let me into his confidence and give me free reign in the fort. I'll make sure the prisoner escapes." Arabella told them.

"And what about Feng? Surely this pirate king has an army to command?" asked Gibbs.

"Aye...but if there isone thing that Sao Feng cannot resist is a good ol' fashioned pirate's auction. We come up with a few fake trinkets said to have magical properties...Feng and his men are distracted from sneaking thieves. And I'll make sure the prisoner knows the layouts of Feng's fort inside and out." Arabella explained.

"But who will be the prisoner?" asked Pintel.

"I will." said Will standing.

"Will no!" Elizabeth protested. Then she shrank back at the look Will gave her, somewhere between scolding and anger. Will looked Barbossa square in the eye and said,

"I'll go in and get the map."

"Very well Mr. Turner! Now Pintel, Ragetti...go below and see how much shot we have. Mr. Marty, take Cotton to the hold and fetch me a large trunk. Gibbs, stay here and we'll go over the coordinates. Mr. Turner, why don't you and your lovely lass go on deck and raise the anchor? We don't have a moment to lose." Barbossa ordered taking command. Everyone nodded, and all but Gibbs and Arabella left the cabin. Once they were alone on deck, Elizabeth followed Will to the capstan.

"Will? We need to talk." she told him.

"Help me start turning the wheel." Will told her. Elizabeth sighed and began to push on one of the pegs with Will. Finally she spoke up as she pushed,

"Will...I have something I need to tell you..."

Will hesitated,

"I already know."

Elizabeth stopped, her face going pale.

"You know?"

"How could you do it Elizabeth? Did you even think of anyone but yourself?" Will asked hotly.

"I was thinking of everyone! The kraken was after Jack not the ship! If I didn't shackle him to the mast we would all be dead!" Elizabeth shouted. Will blinked in surprise,

"You what?"

"I killed him Will...I sent Jack to his grave..."Elizabeth said tearing up. Will's eyes darkened,

"Is that why you kissed him?"

"You...you saw that?" Elizabeth asked in a whisper.

"That is what I was speaking of before! But now I find this! I don't even know you anymore Elizabeth!" Will shouted at her.

"Did you even know me at all? Do you know that I secretly loved our adventure on the Isle De Muerta? That I loved the freedom, the ships, the fighting, the..." Elizabeth shouted at him.

"Bloody hell Elizabeth! This is not a game! People get hurt doing this! This is a matter of survival! If they could choose most pirates in this world would go straight if they knew they could eat for the rest of the their lives!" Will shouted at her waving his hands about. With a look of pride and spite, Elizabeth countered,

"Not Jack..."

Enraged at the man's name, Will fumed,

"No...Jack's a rare breed...But he still knew in the end survival was more important than freedom. And you took that away from him. I was ready to blame Jack for stealing you away...now I know you are the only one I can blame." He tried to stomp off, but Elizabeth stepped in front of him,

"Wait a minute! I may be at fault for the kiss and killing Jack...but the reason Jack wanted to survive was freedom, to get away from Davy Jones...Never forget that Will Turner...Aren't you tired of always being the noble hero? Of living life by the rules and playing it safe? Answer me Will...would either of us be truly happy living a safe domestic life on land when we could live...truly live...on the seas?"

Will got right in her face, pure anger burning in his eyes,

"Perhaps not. But now we'll never know will we?" And with that, Will sidestepped her and went below deck. Elizabeth sighed and put a hand to her temple trying to sooth away the growing headache, when her ears picked up the sound of a match being struck. In her peripheral vision, she saw a dull orange glow to her right and she turned her head. There, standing under the ladder puffing on her cigar...was Arabella. And her chestnut eyes were glaring in cold fury at Elizabeth Swann

* * *

_"Jack!" she yelled as the East Indian militia dragged him into the private office in London. Manacled, he struggled against his captors and his bonds when he saw her tears flowing down, her red hair limp and dirty, her chestnut eye bruised from where someone had slapped her. She was not manacled, but held back by two men. _

_"BECKETT! I will tell you this only once...release her!" Jack spat at the short, well dressed gentleman standing by the fire. The man in the white wig was poking the fire with an iron poker as he said casually, _

_"Look out the window Sparrow...at least your lovely lady is not nearly as damaged as your other lady." Jack glanced out the corner of his eye, but as shock seeped in, he turned his head fully to the scene in the harbor. There was his ship, the Wicked Wench, going up in flames. _

_"Jack...please...I'm frightened..."his fiancée begged him as she sobbed. _

_"I gave you a simple job to do Sparrow. All I asked was that you bring me that compass. But you had to go and keep it for yourself. What do you have to say for yourself?" Beckett asked looking up at him. Jack grinned, _

_"Couldn't resist Mate!" One of the guards gut checked Jack, making him double over in pain._

_"JACK!" she yelled trying to get to him._

_"Strap her to the table..." Beckett ordered the guards holding the lady. She struggled, trying to drag her feet, but they slammed her onto her face, making her lay still, tying her wrist down with rope, holding her down by the waist. _

_"JACK!" she cried._

_"Now Jack..."Beckett started bringing the poker from the fire revealing it to be a branding iron, "I'll give you one last chance to tell me where the compass is buried...Or else..." Beckett moved her hair aside, his finger lingering on her neck. Jack growled in outrage and struggled to get near him. _

_"Don't tell him Jack...no one like him needs that kind of power..."she whispered._

_"OR ELSE JACK...she will be condemned to share YOUR fate! What do you say Jack?" Beckett asked him looking slightly manic. Jack looked to his love, who nodded and gave him a small smile. With a twinkle in his eye, Jack smile smugly at him and said evenly, _

_"That's CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow to you Cutler Beckett...and don't you forget it." _

_Beckett smiled wickedly before saying, _

_"Very well then...hold her still..." She struggled as Beckett ripped open the buttons on the back of her dingy yellow gown. Jack watched with fury as Becket rang his finger down the length of her spine, before circling a spot on her lower back. He raised up the hot poker and pressed it into her flesh. She screamed at the top of her lungs. _

_"Arabella!" yelled Jack in concern. She began to sob as Beckett pulled away, no longer struggling, simply lying limp on the table. Jack tried to toss his captors off to go to her, but they merely grabbed him again, slamming him back against the wall. One man pulled his right arm out. Holding Jack's wrist, one man pulled his white shirt sleeve down his forearm. Taking his iron brand from the fire once more, Beckett advanced on Jack saying in an authoritative voice, _

_"Jack Sparrow and Arabella Morgan...be it known that from this day forward...ye have been found guilty of piracy and therefore shall now and forevermore be known by all...as pirates...sealed by a pirate brand...by order of the East India Trading Company, His Majesty King George the Second, and the English Empire." He pressed the brand into Jack's forearm. Jack shouted out once in pain. Then he opened his eyes to see the upside down letter 'P' glowing red in his tanned skin.

* * *

_

Jack woke up slowly to the sounds of lapping waves and his memories. As he sat up he began to get his bearings. He was in an underground cave of some sorts, sitting on an isolated rock the waves weathering the rock smooth. There was light coming from somewhere, because it caused the waves to reflect off the caves walls and all over him in an eerie blue.

"Jack..." whispered a sing song voice. Jack got to his feet, caution in his eye.

"Jack..." came another voice in a different direction. Jack whipped his head around, his beadings hitting his face,

"Who's there?" he demanded.

"Jack...Jack...Jack...Jack Jack...Jack ...Jack JACK...Jack...Jack Jack Jack...Jack!" called many different voices echoing in the cave. To his wonder, a feminie head popped up from under the water. Jack locked eyes with her. She was pale, her skin tinted green, her hair red and matted wet against her head. Her neck had gills, and her ears had a point like a fish fin. Her eyes were all black and to his amazement, she had one set of eyelids like a fish that blinked from the corners of her eyes, and then she blinked again using her more human eyelids. Or rather, it was more like she fluttered her human eyelids in flirtation as she cooed,

"Jack..." Then one by one, more and more of the same looking creatures poked their heads out of the water around him. Some with green hair, some with blue. Some hopped up on the distant shoreline and the surrounding rocks, exposing their claw like hands and their red, green and blue fish tales. They were mermaids. Then Jack heard a low rumbling and he took a sharp breath of surprise when a large coral throne rose from the water. On the throne sat three female creatures. There skin was tinted gold, and they had large silver eyes. There hair was like a humans, blond, burnette and redhead respectively, but they were woven with seaweed, coral combs and seashell beadings. They had tails like the mermaids, but with long fins like Japanese goldfish and they were dressed in old sails and lost gold jewelry. The burnette, with hair black as night smiled at Jack and said in a soft voice like an echo,

"Welcome Jack Sparrow."

Jack cleared his throat and stood to his full height,

"Captain...Jack Sparrow if you please Milady."

"You are not frightened?" she asked.

"Not terribly...after all...I've been here before...what was it? Twenty years ago? But last time I didn't have the honor of meeting you...Miss Siren..." Jack said. The Siren smiled,

"Then what my mermaids tell me is true. You are the Sea Fox. Crafty and cunning as he is handsome." Jack grinned,

"Really? Well Luv, I'm flattered...Any chance you'll tell me which one of these Scaly Tails said such things?" He winked at a group of mermaids who giggled together. The Siren smiled before saying,

"You may act like a great seducer of females Jack Sparrow..."Jack opened his mouth."Captain Sparrow..."she corrected before continuing, "But there has been but one woman to truly claim your heart hasn't there?" When Jack didn't answer, the Siren responded to the pain in his eyes, "The same woman you saved from my mermaids all those years ago...The same woman who's freedom you bargained from us in exchanged for yours. It's time to collect Jack Sparrow." And with that, she tossed him a smooth black stone, an onyx.

"Collateral...collateral...collateral..."chorused the mermaids. Jack tried not to look at the mermaid chorus, because if memory served him, they could turn into ugly, terrifying sea beasts with tentacles, covered in barnacles, the total opposite of their current radiance. His mind raced quickly. How to get out of this one? How? Then if came to him. He shrugged and smiled,

"If you wish...after all what you girls have cooked up for me has got to be better than what Ol' Davy Jones had wished for me." The mermaids screeched and the Sirens roared, their hair blown around by an supernatural wind, their silver eyes burning red.

"Davy Jones? That thief!"

"Oh you've met?" Jack said cordially.

"He stole the powers of the sea from us! Him and his sorceress love! It is only fitting his woman betrayed him and he's been cursed...So...you bartered the freedom you gave us to him? In exchange for what?" the Head Siren asked.

"My ship...the Black Pearl. And I bartered said freedom because I knew I had already promised my freedom to you and your Scaly Tails. Figured Davy Jones couldn't hold me to my promise. Guess I was wrong. Maybe he does have all the powers of the seas." Jack commented.

"No he doesn't!" roared the blond Siren her scales and gills flapping out.

"Silence!" ordered the Head Siren. She looked coolly at Jack as he folded his hands before him and commented looking up to the ceiling,

"Well there's nothing you can do about it is there? You girls can't go topside else you'd fight Jones on your own...I'd do it for ye...but I don't have the _freedom_ to do so...ah well. Ladies! Who's up for a game of Post Office?" The mermaids giggled as Jack looked around rubbing his hands together.

"Wait...you'd destroy Jones for us?" asked the redheaded Siren. Jack smiled.

"Well he did send a terrible beasty after me, tried to kill me and enslave me...and did I mention he sunk my ship? I'd be happy to get Jones for ye...for a price." The Mermaids chattered for a moment before the Head Siren raised her hand to silence them.

"Name your terms Captain Sparrow."

"I will destroy Davy Jones and his cursed crew in exchange for my freedom and my ship the Black Pearl raised from the depths of the seas." Jack said.

"You're freedom is enough for destroying Jones. For your ship you will destroy Davy Jones lost love as well." The Head Siren told him. Jack furrowed his brow,

"His love? She should be dead by now!"

"She's not...She used her dark magic and the powers of the seas to stay alive. So you will destroy her." she answered.

"Any idea where she is? A name maybe?" asked Jack. The Siren avoided his eye,

"Since we lost the power we have a hard time knowing all about the world."

"Then I'll have to work fast then won't I? After all...since Davy Jones heart is probably in the hands of the MORTAL East Indian Trading Company by now, a bunch of humans dedicated only to profit, greed, and conquest, it will only be a matter of time before they rule the seas. " Jack told them.

"Man cannot control the seas. They don't have the physical ability nor the soul for it." The Head Siren said.

"I know that and you know that...but they don't know that! 'Sides...using Jones to control the seas for them...they have a heck of a shot at it...Here..."Jack tossed them the stone."Collateral. Do we have an accord?"

The Siren smiled, showing off her pointed teeth,

"We have an accord. But you will need help Captain Sparrow. So we shall send you to the place where help will find you."

"Where's that?" asked Jack growing fearful.

"You'll see..." chorused the Sirens and Mermaids before breaking into a cackling collective laugh. Then before Jack knew it, the rock he stood on submerged in the water, pulling Jack down in a whirl pool before he could cry out.

* * *

The bell of the Lady Virgina rang out in a cry of alarm. Norrington was roused from his sleep, and he pulled on his boots, not even bothering with his wig and his coat. He found his crew on the deck, looking over the railing. His first mate, Rodgers stomped up to him and said,

"The night watch has vanished Sir."

"Vanished?" asked Norrington in confusion.

"Aye...the woman...Anamaria...they sent her down to me to ask about the sails...when she came back topside...they were gone...Or so she says..." Rodgers said, his green eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"What are you saying man?" Norrington asked.

"I'm just saying Sir...all but one man...er...woman from a watch is left? How do we know she didn't cause them to disappear? Or if she's some sort of bad luck?" Rodgers asked. Norrington glared at the man,

"I have seen far worst things at sea Mr. Rodgers. A woman bringing bad luck is the least of our concerns. Send her to my cabin...I wish to speak with her." He stomped back to his quarters, lighting the oil lamps and candles as he went. Soon a knock came to the door. Norrington turned and his breath caught in his throat. He had to admit she looked lovely bathed in candlelight. Her creamy brown skin glowed almost gold. He cleared his throat, reminding himself she was a sailor under his command. He looked at her like a Captain should and told her,

"So you found the watch missing?"

"Aye Sir. Came back from seeing Mr. Rodgers and I found the crewmen missing. I knew they couldn't have gone below, or I would have seen them. But Sir...it's the strangest thing..." she started her brow knitted together.

"What is it?" he asked. She looked at him uncertainly,

"Before I went to ring the bell, I heard a chorus of voices singing...they were terrible, ungodly voices...no angelic choirs...I wasn't affected...but I think the crew was..."

"You're not talking of mermaids are you?" Norrington asked incredulously.

"It would explain why I wasn't affected...they only go after men don't they?" she asked.

"So I've heard..."Norrington said thinking it through. After all he had seen in the last two years...it wouldn't hurt to be cautious of the old legend of temptresses of the seas. It wouldn't hurt at all.


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: I'm on fire tonight. I've introduced a CATCF fic and I'm updating left and right! Problem is I have a full time job now so it might be harder to keep the updates coming quickly. _**

**_So why have I done so tonight? Because today and yesterday marked my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY on F. F. NET! So check out all my stories and relive the fun with the old, enjoy the new. Be on the look out for a second CATCF fic I took over from CiceroGuided, along with all the other new fics I've got in the works for the coming year. Don't worry, I won'tpublish those without finishing what I've got now. _**

**_So you want to help me celebrate my anniversary? Review! And enter my fan art contest! See my profile!_**

**_I want to thank everyone who has ever reviewed one of my stories. And special thanks goes to those who faithfully read all my stories and review. I promise for the next year to keep the fun going._**

**_So as always dear readers, _**

**_peace, love, and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

* * *

Jack found himself underwater. Schools of fish danced all around him. He was trying to swim and find his way out before he ran out of air. Before he could, something closed in around him and began to pull him upwards. Jack looked, seeing the ropes of a fisherman's net. Just as his lungs were about to burst, he broke the surface gasping in fresh air. Then he and a few dozen fishes fell to a wooden deck. The net was cut away and Jack sat up about to thank his rescuers, when he noticed they were all of Asian orientation. They wore makeshift armor, kimonos and their facial hair long. Jack gave them a golden grin,

"Would it be too bold to assume that one of you mates speak English?"

"On the contrary..."said a smug voice. The crew parted and Jack paled just a bit. Standing before him, was a strong, muscular Asian man, with a bald head, long mustache, smoking a long pipe. He was dressed in full body armor like a samauri warrior. Starting on his cheekbones going down his neck and surely covered a portion of his torso were elaborate tattoos in a forign script, pictures of long, slim dragons and cheery blossoms. The man smiled wickedly and said,

"Welcome back to my island...Captain Jack Sparrow..." Jack stood to his feet, trying to sway a bit,

"Sao Feng! Mate! Long time no see, ey? How you've been?"

"Better than what I hear about you Jack Sparrow...Are you still mourning the lost of your ship, The Black Pearl?" Sao Feng asked puffing on his pipe.

"Well actually I got her back since we last saw each other..." Jack told him.

"Excellent...then you can repay me the money you stole from my private vault...and the dowry I lost on my daughter...for the thing you stole from her..." Sao Feng said to Jack.

"I swear, all we did was kiss Mate...How did you think I got in to steal from your vault in the first place?" Jack replied with a shrug. Sao Feng laughed,

"Oh...that's right...You're still hung up on the beautiful Arabella Morgan, aren't you?" Jack cast his eyes down to the deck as Sao Feng continued, "It is no matter. You can repay me."

"I know I can!" Jack grinned stepping close to drape an arm around Sao Feng's shoulders, "See there's this chest of Aztec gold...on the bottom of the ocean but I know some of your men are trained to dive for pearls so there you go! I'd be happy to give you the coordinates!"

"Speaking of pearls...where is your Black Pearl? Why did my men fish you out of the ocean like a jellyfish if you got your ship back?" the Chinese pirate asked Jack. Jack winced,

"Well...long story short...Davy Jones, curse, heart, whelp, betrayal and the kraken..."

"So you are once more a captain without a ship...So you must pay back what you owe me in another way." Feng nodded knowingly.

"How's that?" Jack asked. Just then two large pirates stepped forward and took Jack by the arms. Jack looked at surprise at Captain Feng as he replied walking away,

"With your life."

* * *

Elizabeth watched in amazement at the sight before her. The 'island' of Sao Feng was a floating collection of spare ships. Gangplanks here, quarterdecks of all shapes, sizes and wood. All weaving themselves together like a grand puzzle piece labyrinth, ladders and stairs the highways and roads, masts and canvas the shade trees. Suddenly, the sound a whip met her ears. She gasped and turned her head to see Arabella smoking a cigar, her jacket off and using a black leather cat of nine tails to break rum bottles set up on the railing. The sound of heavy bootprints to her left brought Barbossa's voice to her ears,

"One of her signatures. Just as Jack is known around the Caribbean for being a crack shot, Arabella is known for using her whip along side her sword."

"Is she that good a fighter?" asked Elizabeth.

"Uh...she's decent. Truth be told the whip only helps defend herself. Not too sure she can defend herself with a sword alone." Barbossa answered. Elizabeth nodded in understanding as she continued to watch Arabella. She saw Will out of the corner of her eye and to her wonder saw him flinch with every crack. Barbossa saw where she was looking and said,

"Don't be surprised on your wedding night, Miss Swann...to find your William has some fresh scars."

"What?" she asked Barbossa. He sighed walking back to the quarterdeck as she followed,

"Every sailor gets them at least once in their life at sea. More often than once. Usually it's five lashes for slacking on your duties."

"Lashes? You mean Will was..." asked Elizabeth.

"Whipped with a strap?...The way he's reacting I'd say he just had his first time. On Davy Jones crew..." Barbossa told her.

"Poor Will..."she said.

"Just think how poor he'd be if he got Moses Law. Forty straps to the back!" Barbossa pointed out to her as he took the helm from Cotton.

"How can such a barbaric and inhuman treatment be given so freely and gladly? It's not right!" Elizabeth said.

"Girly they give out lashes even in the Royal Navy, you know that? A life on the sea means one can't make many mistakes. Lashes help sailors remember that." Barbossa said.

"But Will is not a sailor, he's a blacksmith." Elizabeth said.

"No Lass...You and he are both sailors now...even if you step back on land for a spell. The call of the sea will get to you both. You both have to accept that. Especially the lad over there. So why don't you run along and take his mind off the sounds of his memories, ay?" Barbossa suggested. Elizabeth folded her arms and stayed in place,

"I don't think Will wishes my company at the moment..."

"Why?" asked Barbossa.

"Nevermind..."Elizabeth sighed walking off.

"You know Lass...Jack Sparrow even gave out lashes from time to time..." Barbossa said. Elizabeth stopped looking back over her shoulder.

"Did he?"

"Only once to each man and only when the mouthed off of him one too many times." Barbossa nodded.

"How do you know?" asked Elizabeth.

"What did you think sent me over the edge of mutiny?" Barbossa asked her seeing her surprised look in her eyes as it all sank in. Elizabeth didn't know what to think about Will's pain, Jack's past, the truth about life on the sea or the fact that she had just conversed so freely with a man who held her life hostage last year. Barbossa gave off a chuckle as she walked down the ladder, helping Gibbs with the sails.

* * *

A half four later Will found himself chained behind the back and led through the streets of the makeshift city. Asian pirates had set up booths like at a marketplace and we're selling their wares to the foreign guests visiting Sao Feng. Before him marched Barbossa and behind him marched Arabella, who pushed him every once in a while to keep up the illusion of him being a prisoner. Will turned his head to glare back an annoyed glance at the woman a moment. When he turned his head back around, a wondrous sight met his young eyes. Sao Feng had built for himself a palace made out of figureheads and the bows of ships. The cravings all stared down at him like gargoyles on a cathedral, protecting the pirate emperor within from evil spirits. Barbossa stopped them and pulled out a burlap sack.

"Here boy...we'll need to keep your face hidden. Sao Feng doesn't tolerate old enemies. Why you had to up and go look exactly like your father did at your age..."Barbossa said shaking his head.

"Sao Feng has met my father?" Will whispered.

"Let's just say Feng has a particularly nasty scar on his bum that he ain't too proud off!" Barbossa smirked. Will lifted up the corner of his mouth in pride and amusement as Barbossa dropped the burlap over his head. Arabella took his arm and guided him roughly to the front gate where Barbossa told the big burly guard,

"We've brought a slave for Master Feng!" The guard grunted once and opened the door letting them go inside. Although Will couldn't see it properly through the loose knit, the inner court was just as miraculous. The ladders of ships formed and outdoor amphitheater, surrounding a protruding quarterdeck leading to the inside of the prison. The inside of an old Captain's cabin served as a private box with a large red and gold throne, obviously Sao Feng's. Ropes and sails were draped over the opening for the courtyard to provide shading. Two guards came out and began poking Will in the stomach, when a voice addressed Arabella from above,

"Arabella Morgan..." Arabella and Barbossa looked up to see Sao Feng decending from one of the upper rooms. He continued to speak, "I never thought I would see you again."

Arabella gave an uneasy look to Barbossa and said,

"Well...I think last time we parted on amicable terms, Master Feng."

"Only because you had no one to turn to when Jack Sparrow betrayed you. And please...call me Sao...You did once." the Chinese pirate said.

"Once! And only once. Captain Feng I've brought you a bounty, but I was hoping to make a larger profit off him by selling him to the highest bidder...in an auction." Arabella said businesslike.

"I love auctions...but what auction is complete without some trinkets to attract the big spenders?" Feng asked. Arabella got really close to the pirate, brushing her leg against his.

"Oh I have some trinkets Feng." The pirate was so distracted, he never saw Arabella unhook a key from his belt and replace it with a skeleton key. She continued with a smoldering look, "I just did business with Tia Dalma." Arabella smiled as she stepped back, showing the key behind her back to Barbossa. Barbossa casually came forward and palmed it from her as Sao Feng laughed,

"Ah...one can always count on Tia Dalma to deliver the goods! So come...come and dine with me. Your mate can see your prisoner gets to his cell."

Barbossa rolled his eyes at the Chinaman assuming he was Arabella's lackey, but Arabella smiled and took Captain Feng by the arm fluttering her eyelashes,

"That would be delightful! Smithe, take the trash down to cells won't you?"

Barbossa watched the redhead go up the stairs with a dry glare,

"Aye ma'am...daft git...just like Sparrow!" Of course, this last part he muttered to himself as he followed Feng's men, taking Will roughly by the arm below.

* * *

The storm raged on the tossing ocean. White caps broke everywhere, sending forceful waves washing aboard the deck of the Lady Virginia. Lightning crashed and thunder rolled. Rain pelleted down in sheets and the wind howled. Anamaria had been sailing for fifteen years she never saw so much rain. As if the seas were angry and taking out revenge. It chilled the normally chilly woman to the bone. She gasped as she saw another one of her shipmates was pitched overboard before he had a chance to scream. She scrambled to make it to the quarterdeck where Norrington was fighting with the helm, using all of his strength.

"Anamaria! Have the men drop canvas!" Norrington yelled over the ocean's mighty roar.

"There's only three men left! We'll never make it to the top in time!" Anamaria yelled.

"That was an order sailor!" Norrington barked at her. Anamaria paused.

"Thank you!" she shouted back at him before returning to her given duty. Norrington only mused on that a second before turning his attention back to the ship. He had to make it through! He had to! In the last few days half of his men had jumped overboard in response to the mermaids call. That was when he ordered the remaining sailors to put cotton in their ears. Now they had run into this storm. And to his fear, a sudden reef appeared out of the water and the Lady Virginia ran into it.


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N: Whoo! Superhumongous chapter but so well worth it! There are two slight homages in this chapter. One (maybe two) to the original ride, look for em. The other is not quite as well known as POTC. In the 1940's Gene Kelly and Judy Garland made a lot of movies together and one of them was a fun little musical called 'The Pirate'. At one point, they break out into a huge fight where Garland just hurls stuff at Kelly. Decided to pay my respects to such a great movie about pirates in the caribbean with Pirates of the Caribbean. Enjoy! And please take the time to review this and many of my other stories. Especially Princess Diaries. Wouldn't want me to stop writing that one now would we?_**

**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

Will Turner thought they really had sold him out and were holding him prisoner. Why else would they keep him locked in this cell for nearly a day and a half? Waiting around for Arabella and Barbossa to hopefully make a move gave Will a lot of time to think. That kiss...He kept seeing it over and over again in his mind. Elizabeth's arms on Jack's chest pushing him back against the mast, how Jack was beginning to engulf her in his arms, how the pirate leaned his head to the side to fully partake in Elizabeth's sweet and desirable mouth. And every time he thought of it, his heart broke all over again.

He thought he could never forgive Elizabeth for what she done, but the more he thought about it, the more he resolved to win Elizabeth back. He was a pirate now after all, and he had the scars to prove it. Jack Sparrow wouldn't be stealing Elizabeth's heart from him. For a moment he entertained the thought of killing Jack, but he paled at that. Jack had somehow, without warning, become Will's best friend...despite lying to him and tricking him and confusing his fiance over and over again. At the heart of it all, Will stood by his own proclamation of Jack being a good man. Only now he realized that Jack was also human. And if anyone was a living example of being a good person who did wicked things, it was Captain Jack Sparrow.

He was even beginning to realize Elizabeth was human as well. Of course she would be confused over her kissing another man. She had told Will he was the first man she'd kissed. And she had told Will she had always dreamed of being taking away by a pirate and living a life of freedom. Jack stood for her dreams and fantasies. Will was sure that was her attraction to Jack. With a smug grin to himself, Will mused that HE would become the seductive pirate of her dreams making her kiss with Jack but a pale memory of but one of many adventures. What had happened to the two of them? Growing up Will strove to be a perfect gentleman who'd win Elizabeth over with his perfect way of treating her like the perfect goddess she was. He use to hate pirates, now he was one and the lust for the perfect Governor's daughter was slowly being burned away into a deep and steady longing for the imperfect pirate girl Elizabeth who lied, fought, betrayed and kissed other men. Will guessed the two of them were finally growing up.

He kept thinking about Jack too. Was he suffering in pirate's hell? Was there the slightest chance he'd survived the kraken? Will only entertained that thought last night when he could have sworn he'd heard Jack's voice singing 'Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me'. Suddenly, a click came to the door and Will sat up as the door slammed open and in stomped Barbossa holding a bowl of stew.

"Finally! What took you so..."

Will stopped when Barbossa backhanded him across the mouth and spat out,

"Belay your tongue Whelp! Eat this swill so ye won't look so sickly on the auction block!"

Will glared at the pirate and hissed out at him,

"You miserable lying son of a..."

Barbossa squatted down to eye level with Will with a dangerous quiet gleam to his eye. That's when Will noticed the fat Chinese guard taking in the scene. He put two and two together when he heard Barbossa whisper to him in a mock threatening tone of voice,

"Sorry about the treatment Boyo, but these types ain't ones for mercy. After we've gone you'll find the key in the swill. Wait an hour. Unlock the door and then creep out to the second floor in the wing wing. You'll know which one is the west wing cause you'll see the sun setting through the windows. Sao Feng's collection is in the room at the end of the hall. The map is in a gold cylinder."

"Where's the cylinder?" asked Will feigning contempt in his voice.

"Not sure...Arabella says you can't miss it though. Then just jump out the window to the ocean below. Gibbs is under orders to retrieve you in the ship when the clock strikes seven." Barbossa said before adding as he stood up and shouted, "AND don't you forget that!" Barbossa spat at Will's feet and stomped out, leaving the guard to shut and lock the door once more. Will waited until the footsteps died away before digging into the soupy substance in the bowel and pulling out the iron key. He was beginning to think that maybe he had been wrong about Barbossa as well.

**&&&**

"Well Arabella...what do you think?" Sao Feng said extending a hand over the view they shared over the island. Swirling a cup of porcelain Saki in her hand, Arabella replied,

"It's bigger than the last time I was here isn't it?"

"Hmm...I've sacked quite a few fleets in the last five years. You?" Sao Feng asked sitting on the railing.

"Oh...smuggling here...smuggling there...The usual..."Arabella said.

"How profitable is it?" he asked.

"Considering I have my own plantation near Tortuga...very." Arabella replied with a pride filled smirk. Her expression dropped when she felt his hand on hers.

"Does it get lonely? I know I could use a resourceful woman like you by my side." he told her. Arabella glared at him,

"Who are you kidding Feng?...We hate each other."

"I know. I'm the one who gave you that rather interesting scar remember?" Feng said as she gingerly touched her stomach. He continued standing to his feet and walking to the other side of the balcony they stood on,

"But hate and love are merely meaningless in the grand scream of life. My people believe that to reach Nirvana, all thought, all emotions must be absent from the mind. I need a queen. A smart queen. Someone who can help me achieve...heaven on earth."

"Your wife died twenty years ago Captain. I'm guessing you didn't think love was meaningless with her." Arabella said as she watched his back tense up. The tattooed pirate king turned to her, rage present in his calculating black eyes.

"Just as your heart still burns for the love of Jack Sparrow." he said advancing on her. Arabella smashed the cup on the ground.

"You don't know my heart Feng! And I'm not about to give it away to someone who thinks love is useless." Arabella snapped at him. Sao Feng grinned and said into her fuming face,

"Then why did you give it away to Jack Sparrow?"

"Go to hell where you came from!" Arabella said before stepping around him to move away.

"Oh Arabella...one more thing...You're not going to miss the auction are you?" Feng asked casually.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" she said before turning her head and stopping dead in her tracks. There were three of Sao's guards waiting for her and blocking her path. She looked back at the pirate king who smiled evilly,

"I'll make sure you don't."

"What is this?" she demanded him.

"I tried to give you a chance to be my queen willingly Arabella. Perhaps if you beg up on the auction block, I'll be willing to outbid the other buyers. I'll even sweeten the offer with a pretty gown." Feng said. That set Arabella off. Without warning, she drew her sword and elbowed a guard in the stomach making him double over in pain. She blocked the attack of a second guard, slicing the arm of the third. The first joined into the fray as Feng stood and watched the display. The woman was struggling to keep up. She pulled every pirate trick she could think off. She jumped up on tables, chairs, kicked plants and vases in their way. But within five minutes the guards had surrounded her. One grabbed her from behind, another taking her sword away.

"You should have brought your whip ashore Arabella. Even if I wouldn't have let you in otherwise." Feng told her as Arabella kicked and struggled.

"You no good dastard! You can't expect my crew to sit idly by and let this happen, do you?" Arabella said.

"Oh but I do...for no one defies Sao Feng and lives." he said. Arabella smiled smugly,

"Jack did..."

Sao Feng bristled and then smiled to himself as he nodded for his guards to take her away.

"Not for long..." he mumbled under his breath before finishing his Saki.

**&&&**

James Norrington groaned and got up to his knees. His head was pounding but he managed to stand. When water hit his feet he looked down and then gasped in shock as his line of vision took in the remains of his sinking ship. She was broken in two and taking water on the deck. The masts were down, tattered sails dancing in the wind. Fire was ablaze in one or two spots and cargo and cannons were everywhere. And he was all alone.

"Anamaria!" he called unsure why he called her first.

"Over here Captain!" came her voice to his relief. He followed the direction her voice echoed from and found her sitting on what used to be a ship's ladder leading to the bow. She held a crewman in her lap, his eyes glazed over, sputtering for breath.

"He's nearly dead...and soon he'll be here..." she said calmly.

"Are you alright?" asked Norrington.

"Aye that's the rub of it...Why am I fine and no one else is? It's not fair..."Anamaria said looking up at him with stubborn tears.

"Except for a pounding headache I think I'll live." he said with a dry humor trying to lighten the situation they were in. She gave him the smallest of smiles and then stood to her feet stepping over to her fallen crew mate to her captain,

"Here...let's have a look see."

"Oh no really it's fine...ow!" Norrington cried out when she slapped the back of his head.

"Hold still...hmm...ye might have a small concussion...but you'll be fine." she told him.

"Was that diagnosis before or after the slap?" Norrington quipped rubbing his head. Anamaria looked around and asked,

"Can you believe this?"

"I know...I have incredibly bad luck with ships..." Norrington joked.

"Seriously! In case you haven't noticed...This ain't a place for a reef to be now is it?" Anamaria told him. Norrington looked over the shattered remains of the railing. She was right. There was no land. Just open ocean for miles and miles. Where did this jagged reef come from? As a rumbling came from the waves, he knew the answer.

"Oh...bugger..." Norrington said as he and Anamaria watched with awe as a large ship the size of a Spanish galleon burst from under the water. Instead of being crusted with barnacles she was made from barnacles. Her cannon deck looked like great gaping gargoyles as the water poured out of them. The sails where tattered living coral, oven seaweeds the ropes and riggings. Suddenly, Norrington noticed the fallen crewman, barely able to move before stood on his feet as if hypnotized and not of his own power. Looking to the deck Anamaria saw their own ship becoming encrusted with barnacles which sprang alive to form misshapen, deformed, ugly half men, half sea creature monsters with sword fish swords, conk shells and shark heads for heads, some with beady black fish eyes, some with human. All of them had sharp fangs. They surrounded Norrington, Anamaria and the crewman in a circle as the monster crew laughed wickedly. Out of instinct, Norrington stood before Anamaria, trying to protect her when a rhythmic thumping made the crew give way to silence. The creatures parted and the remaining crew of the Lady Virgina gasped at the sight.

Davy Jones. In the pale blue green fishy flesh. His eyes and build were the only thing human that remained. He wore a hat that peaked up to two points like devil's horns. Where his nose had been was now a little mound of flesh that connected to his mouth. His beard and hair were really long, slithering tentacles. One hand was a tentacle holding a wooden cane, the other a crab's claw. One foot was human and decked in thick worn leather. The other was a crab leg, much resembling a wooden leg. His eyes were cold and dark and devoid of human interest as he glowered at his prey. He spoke in a thick Scottish borough,

"You two...are not dead nor near dying."

"That's..."Norrington squeaked before clearing his throat and responding normally, "That's correct..."

Davy Jones attention turned to the crewman. He advanced on him saying,

"You however...I offer a bargain. A hundred years of service aboard my ship. To prolong death and final judgment. You do fear death...don't you lad?"

Norrington looked at the sailor, noting he wasn't a day over seventeen. The young man gulped and said softly,

"I do Sir...but I fear hell more..."

Glaring at the lad, Davy Jones looked down to see the young man clutching a crucifix around his neck. He pulled it off the boy and then ran him through with a dagger held by one of his tentacles for a beard. He muttered to one of his mates who looked like a hammerhead shark,

"Bloody Reformation! No one wants to trade their soul anymore!" Davy Jones commented as he began to head back to his ship. Norrington spoke up to him,

"Wait! Wait! What about us?"

"I give it three days. If you're not picked up by a passing ship and starving to death, I'll be back." Jones said still walking.

"You can't just abandon us!" Norrington said.

"Try me...I've learn me lesson taking living souls aboard trust me!" Jones said not turning.

"Wait!" Norrington said squeezing on the leather bag on his belt. Davy Jones cried out in pain, clutching his chest,

"AGRRGGHH!"

"CAP'N! Cap'n what is it?" one of his crew asked him helping him up. Norrington looked down to the bag suspiciously as he watched Jones say,

"It's...it's...close...nearby..."

"What is?" asked another crewman. Norrington squeezed the bag again.

"AHHGGG! That! That...useless organ! My heart! Agh!" Davy Jones said in pain. Then his eyes turned hot with fury towards Norrington and Anamaria. "You two...you...have my heart...Get it!"

But before his men advanced on them, Norrington held the heart up, drew his sword and shouted,

"HOLD! Hold or I swear I'll slice it up and fry it!"

"WAIT!" shouted Jones in fear stopping his crew. Speaking over his shoulder, Anamaria whispered,

"Fry it?"

"Shush..." Norrington said softly watching Jones desperately eye the leather bag while he clutched his chest,

"What do you want?"

Norrington spoke plainly,

"A bargain."

**&&&**

Captain Jack Sparrow didn't struggle. He didn't even refuse to let them bound his wrist with course rope. In fact, he merely whistled 'A Pirate's Life for Me' as Sao Feng's guards took him from his isolated and enclosed iron cell towards the open courtyard for the pirate auction Sao Feng had cooked up today. No he didn't have a plan...currently...But all good plans be they thought out for weeks or seconds all had one thing in common. The opportune moment. Sao Feng, dressed in his finest silks approached Jack in the hall and greeted him cordially.

"Good day Captain Sparrow. How are you holding up?"

"Good...Very good. Free room and board...total darkness so I can sleep deeply...I haven't felt this refreshed in ages!" Jack said sarcastically. The Chinaman smiled,

"Excellent. I hope you'll enjoy today's auction Captain Sparrow."

"Oh I'm sure I will right up until I'm up to be sold." Jack said.

"Oh no Captain. You are not for sale...even if there are dozens of your enemies out there who would pay the highest price to silt you from stem to stern." Feng told him. Jack furrowed his brow,

"Then why am I here?"

"All in good time Captain...All in good time." Sao Feng said leading the way into his private box looking over the crowded courtyard with the makeshift stage. Jack was stumped. Why was he allowed to watch the activities from behind a wooden screen with an open pattern he could see through? What was Sao Feng so confident about? Before Jack could try to decipher his old adversary, he heard a voice. A very familiar, very blood boiling voice.

"Ladies and Gents! Welcome to the auction! We have tons of items up for interest today..."

"Barbossa!" Jack hissed in rage as he saw his old mutinous (and very much alive) first mate step up on the stage.

"What was that Captain?" Sao asked not hearing him. Jack cleared his throat,

"Nothing."

Below, Barbossa had finished explaining the rules when he started the auction with a few fake magic scrolls allegedly (emphasis on the alleged part). But he scanned the crowd for Arabella. Where was she? She had told him she would be keeping watch in the crowd in case Sao Feng or any of his crew got suspicious. He also wondered if the whelp was doing alright.

**&&&**

With a click of the lock, Will turned the handle and slowly creaked the door open. He looked to the left and to the right of the hall, wary of the guard but he didn't have to for they were watching the auction same as everyone. He came down the hall and slowly crept to the palace outside the prison. His eyes traced the windows, finding the edge of the setting sun. He passed a grandfather clock that read twenty after six. He didn't have much time.

**&&&**

Gibbs looked at the girl who sat on the rail of the ship he was acting captain of. He had known her when she was a young girl sailing over from England and he was a Navy man. Back then the young lass with a heart that longed for the sea annoyed him by asking a million questions about pirates and sailing. Now he almost felt like a father, looking on with pride and pity at the young woman she had become. He approached her and asked,

"How ye faring Miss Elizabeth?"

She gave him a ghost of a smile and said,

"Not very well to tell the truth. I'm worried Gibbs. I have a feeling something is wrong."

"Just pray you're the one that's wrong Lass." Gibbs said.

"I'm also worried..." Elizabeth trailed off.

"About Will?" Gibbs asked with a comforting hand to her shoulder.

"And my father back in Port Royal...with Beckett there who knows what has happened to him." she said.

"Aye...No offense Lassie, but from what I remember of your father he wasn't much of a match for anyone." Gibbs said. Elizabeth smiled sadly,

"He is a smart man Gibbs...just naive...When my mother was alive, no one could put anything past him. She wouldn't let them. But when she died...so did his common sense."

"Don't fret Miss Elizabeth. We'll beat Beckett once we get Jack Sparrow back." Gibbs told her.

"I know...but then what? What happens after we beat the East India Trading Company Gibbs? How can a Governor still love his daughter...when she's a pirate?" Elizabeth asked with tears in her eyes.

"You underestimate a father's love Miss Elizabeth." Gibbs told her as she looked back over to the floating isle of ships.

**&&&**

The auction was halfway over and Barbossa was actually worried. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of Arabella at all. Either she was really keeping to the background or something was up. He leaned toward the latter seeing the smug satisfied grin on Sao Feng's face as he puffed on his long pipe. He also noticed the figure standing behind the wooden screen to Sao Feng's left. Who was that? Why did Barbossa get the feeling he figured into all of this? He took a scroll from a guard and said to the crowd,

"Our next batch of items to be sold include a vase from the ming dynasty carrying the spirit of the warrior Fao Mulan, a potion to cause great wind in your sails, a priceless gem said to make any wench fall in love with ye and...ARABELLA MORGAN!" Barbossa snapped his head up as Sao Feng's guards led the young woman onto the stage a dry and annoyed expression on her face. She was dressed in a figure hugging red velvet dress, striped stockings and short black boots with a high heel. The dress fell off her creamy white shoulders and showed off plenty of enticing cleavage. Jack saw her too with shock. He knew those eyes, that hair, those shoulders and that enticing cleavage anywhere.

"Arabella..." Jack whispered with a stunned longing. Hearing him perfectly, Sao Feng smiled and commented to him,

"How do you like seeing your lost love again Captain? And all this time you thought her dead! And now you shall see your two bit whore sold to the highest bidder. My men tell me that Shunkhead Sallarie...that round fat Italian sweating over there in the corner...just raided a Navy ship that raided an Armada. And not only does he have enough gold to buy all of Tortuga...he has a weakness for redheads...Something you both share obviously."

"So that's your game is it? Make me suffer by watching the woman I use to love...go into the arms of another man?" Jack asked.

"If you use to love her, that would imply you no longer love her. And then you won't suffer. However...I have the strangest inclination...you will be squirming like kalimari..." Sao Feng said as he turned his attention back to the auction. Barbossa looked over the catcalling crowd casually watching the Chinese pirates clutch their weapons, silently threatening Barbossa to continue. He stepped close to Arabella and whispered,

"What the devil are you doing here and in that dress?"

"Things didn't go according quite to plan...The dress is a sick joke for Feng..." Arabella whispered back.

"Looks nice on ye." Barbossa complimented her.

"Shut up! Just go on with the auction. If we play our cards right, this could be just the distraction we need to give Will more time." Arabella told him.

"Aye..." Barbossa agreed stepping forward.

"Whatever you do...make sure I don't go to the fat one in the corner..." Arabella asked as she watched in disgust as the fat sweaty man licked his lips.

"I'll try..."he said to her before shouting out to the crowd, "All right you bleeding cockroaches listen up! Who will give me twenty for the vase? Twenty! Twenty do I hear twenty?"

"Give us the redhead!" shouted an old man from the crowd as everyone else agreed with him. Barbossa exchanged a look with Arabella,

"Oh bugger..."

On the other side of the fort overlooking the courtyard, Will Turner had taken a wrong turn. He groaned in frustration as he saw the west wing where he needed to be on the other side. Sao Feng's box was on the North side of the fort facing South, overlooking the crowd below. He looked to the left seeing guards blocking his path and watching the festivities. He tried to go to his right only to stop in his tracks as more of Sao Feng's men blocked the path. He needed to get out of there and fast. His eyes drifted upwards seeing the two mast beams that crisscrossed over the top of the courtyard and holding the many ropes and canvases creating shade. The sun cast a perfect x over the crowd.

"X marks the spot..." he mused to himself. He saw that he was near the beam that secured the mast overhead...and there was rungs to climb up them. He quickly pulled himself up and began to make his way to the crisscrossed beams of wood. When he reached the top he steadied himself and watched the crowd below. Then he focused his attention ahead, slowly crawling across the beam like an infant, praying he wouldn't be seen. But he was seen. By Jack. At first Jack was about to say something, but he shut his mouth because of Feng. Why was Will here? That's when he realized it. Will, Barbossa and Anabella together in the same place was either one heck of a bloody coincidence or they were here to rescue him! Seeing Feng about to look up from lighting his pipe again, Jack said executing two plans at once,

"Captain! Sensai! Can I call you Master? Fenny Ol' Chap I'll give you thirty thousand gold coins for Arabella right now. That more than covers my debt to you."

"I thought you didn't have the gold Captain." Feng said as Will inched his way past him overhead.

"I do...I lied...It's not on me person of course but I do have a private cache. I lied about Jones too. The Pearl's fine! Waiting for me back in Tortuga as we speak. So what say you? Do we have an accord?" Jack said as he watched with relief as Will moved out of their line of vision and was about to climb down to the West Wing. Sao Feng thought a moment, looking to the auction below. Barbossa was trying to sell off the fake love charm,

"Do I hear forty Gents? Forty for this magical talisman of love!"

"I'll buy it if it gets that pretty wench to fall for me!" shouted one pirate earning a laugh.

"We wants the redhead!"

"Gives us the redhead!" the crowd cried randomly.

"Mr. Smithe!" Sao Feng called down to Barbossa. Barbossa went quiet along with everyone else, waiting on baited breath. Sao Feng smiled wickedly,

"Start the bidding on Miss Morgan."

"YAY!" cheered the crowd as Jack and Arabella's shoulders simultaneously drooped. Barbossa sighed and pulled Arabella forward by the rope around her waist.

"Next up for bid is Miss Arabella Morgan. Wanted for piracy, smuggling, arson, looting, and illegally creating eunuchs. I'll start the bidding at ten gold coins Gentlemen. Who will give ten for the fine Miss Morgan?

"Fifty!" shouted Sallarie. Sao Feng looked to Jack and said,

"If you want Arabella so badly Captain...you'll have to do better than cover your debt."

"A hundred then!" Jack told Sao Feng.

"Do you love her Captain?" Feng asked.

"Feng..."

"Do you love her?" asked the pirate king. Jack looked to the woman he kept trying to tell himself was a ghost. He smiled at an old memory,

"I always have..."

**&&&**

_He had just turned sixteen. He thought by all means he was a man. So he made the manly decision to take his life in his own hands. He had stowed away on a ship and arrived in the famed pirate town of Tortuga. For a pirate port it wasn't that bad. The wenches calling for him from the doorways, the fights, the ships in the harbor, the drinking, the laughing the singing all amused him...Until some bit dumb pirate stole his sack. _

_Now it was pouring down rain and he had followed the thief into a tavern called the Faithful Bride. He felt her eyes before he saw them. Finding her, and watching her catch her breath, his anger dwindled for a moment. She was beautiful. Skinny as a rake but with a developing figure she would be ravishing. Straight red hair pulled back into a messy bun with two strands falling down and framing her heart shaped face. She had warm brown eyes, almost golden brown. They bore into his soul with fascination. Freckles of youth and sun splashed across her nose making her adorable. _

_He had refocused his attention on retrieving his effects, but only ended up starting a huge fight. She had pulled him out and into the alley. With more strength he'd give her credit for, she slammed him into the wall and started lecturing him. All he could think of at the time was, _

_'Bugger...so this is the girl I'm going to marry...'_

**&&&**

Jack returned to the present when he heard someone shout,

"Three hundred twenty seven!"

"Three hundred twenty eight!"

"Stop going up one you git!"

Jack shook himself and told Sao Feng,

"Five hundred."

"Five hundred!" shouted Sallarie below.

"Six." Jack said.

"Six!"

"Seven fifty." Jack said.

"Seven fifty!" repeated someone from the crowd below as Jack gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND GOLD COINS!" shouted Jack silencing the crowd below.

"That voice..." Arabella whispered to herself. Barbossa whispered to her,

"It came from Sao Feng's box. I don't know about you Lass but I wouldn't want to take my chances with whoever is up there with him. Time to end this auction." Then he shouted for the crowds benefit,

"Strike your colors ya brazen wench!"

"Don't ruddy push it!" Arabella hissed at him as she began to lift her skirts to show off her legs. As the men below salivated, Jack felt his desire for her, which he had thought dwindled, ignite and rage war between his body and mind. His mind was telling him to wait, hold his ground, save her at the opportune moment. His heart and body however, were quickly regaining control of his actions. They told him what they had told him before when it came to Arabella. Save her.

"One hundred thousand gold coins...I certainly hope you actually have that amount Sparrow. " Sao Feng said as below, Arabella looked up through her hair at the Chinese pirate. One of her hands lifted her skirt up to her thigh, where she had strapped on a dagger. Without warning, she pulled the dagger out and flung it towards Feng. The pirate luckily saw it and ducked in his chair just before it would have struck him in the head. Jack took advantage of the guards confusion and stepped on their toes, pushing them back. He cut his bonds with the edge of the dagger and then tipped Sao Feng, chair and all over saying,

"Put it on my tab, Mate!"

Jack pulled the dagger out of the chair and then climbed up on the railing, cutting a rope free and swinging out just before Sao Feng's guards could grab him.

"KILL HIM! HIM HIM!" Feng shouted as he was pulled up. Soon, arrows and shots were being hurled from all directions in the courtyard, Jack swinging back and forth barely missing them.

"WOAH!" he shouted as the crowd erupted into a fight below. Barbossa had drawn his sword and was fighting off some pirates trying to grab Arabella as she pulled off the rope around her waist, using it as a whip to beat men back. Then three pirates grabbed the rope and grinned at her wickedly. They began a tug of war, when Jack swung over the stage and knocked the three pirates over. As he began to swing back, he grabbed Arabella round the waist and she began to swing with him.

"Oh! Let me go! Let me go!" Arabella cried as Jack grabbed another rope and swung over to the west wing of the fort. He landed on the balcony arms still held round her waist as she beat on his chest and shouted,

"Let go of me you wanker!"

"Never again darlin'." Jack replied. Finally looking up at the face of her captor, Arabella gasped,

"Jack!"

"The one, the only..." A bullet whizzed between their noses, "And currently the endangered species! Come on Luv!" Jack said taking her hand and pulling her along. Below, Barbossa had finally managed to find a path out of the fortress saying to himself,

"This was not a part of the plan!"

Jack had ducked himself and Arabella into Sao Feng's private gallery. It was filled to the brim with art, china, silver, silks, furniture and various and glowing stones and stoic little wooden idols. Will turned from his ransacking the desk, a telescope in his hand to the newcomers.

"Avast!" he shouted. Jack sighed,

"William...for the last ruddy time...pirates don't actually say that...Savvy?"

Will blinked in disbelief, lowering his makeshift weapon,

"Jack? You're alive!"

"Course I am! After all Mate I am Captain Jack Spar..." Jack was cut off when Arabella smashed a vase on the floor. The two men looked in fear at the woman who was more or less muttering to herself,

"Thirteen years...After thirteen years you are still the same egotistical...self serving...full of hisself...cocky little prick you always were!"

"Now...now Arabella...Sweetheart...don't get all in a..." Jack started as he and Will slowly began to back away towards the enraged woman. Arabella took a small vase in her hand, speaking in a sickening sweet voice.

"Don't get all in a tizzy Jack? Oh no...I'm well past a tizzy Jack...I AM DOWNRIGHT MAD AS HELL!" she began to shout before hurling the vase at Jack. Jack and Will ducked as Arabella began to throw more at them, paintings, plants, statues whatever she could lift. She began rambling on angrily,

"I came here cause I thought you were dead! I thought for once I could save you! Now I find you alive and well and you don't even bloody act like you're sorry about what you did!"

"For living?" Jack offered as he ducked behind a chair just as a flower pot smashed into it. Will began to run towards a hiding spot in the corner, when he noticed Arabella wasn't aiming for him. Just Jack. He watched in fascination as Jack took up a golden shield to protect himself as Arabella came over to a stack of plates,

"For lying!" Arabella said throwing a plate at him, "For cheating on me!" she said throwing another. "We promised to stay chaste for each other Jack!" she shouted as Will's brows shot up in surprise.

"Not in front of the whelp aye Luv?" Jack pleaded. Arabella continued throwing a plate with every pause,

"And what do I find? I know you thought me dead Jack...but you...didn't...even...wait...ten...minutes...before...bunking...Tia...Dalma!"

"I was very vulnerable at the time!" Jack said in his defense.

"So I left you to her! Not caring if you ever found out I was alive or not!" Arabella said looking around for something else to throw. Poking his head out from behind the shield, Jack said,

"I did care!"

He ducked again as a small clock whizzed past his head, Arabella continuing,

"No where to go I went to Singapore...Feng found me...tried to seduce me! But I kept out promise Jack! I kept it! I refused him and he tried to gut me!"

"I'm sorry Luv! I'm sorry!" Jack cried. Arabella stopped in her tracks, looking at him incredulously,

"Sorry? YOU"RE SORRY!"

She began hurling larger, heavier objects at Jack, who dropped the shield and ran around the room trying to placate her,

"Now Arabella I made a mistake! I said I was sorry! I didn't know you were alive! Arabella!"

Will heard a noise from the hall, and went to peek out, seeing guards advancing. They had heard them! Will began barricading the door pleading with them,

"Quiet both of you! We have to get out of here!"

The two ignored him as Arabella chased Jack around the balcony back inside with a frying pan in her hands, Jack shouting,

"Bell Luv you're not being very big about this!"

Will knew he should have helped Jack, but he considered this his small revenge on Jack for kissing Elizabeth. He waited two more seconds before running up between a cornered Jack and Arabella who had inadvertently picked up the golden cylinder Will had been trying to find for over a half hour. Just as she was about to smash Jack's head in, Will grabbed her wrist and told her,

"We don't have time for this!" Then the clock began to chime seven, the guards pounding on the doors trying to break them down. Will added to Arabella, "See?"

Arabella sighed, shutting her eyes to calm herself down. Then she glared at Jack as she handed Will the cylinder,

"Guess I'll have to kill you later."

Jack gulped regaining his collected composure,

"It's a date then!"

**&&&**

Elizabeth and Gibbs exchanged a look as Barbossa, Pintel and Ragetti returned in the long john.

"Where's Arabella?" asked Elizabeth. Stepping onto the deck, Barbossa told them,

"Things didn't go quite according to plan! Have we picked up the whelp yet?"

"His name is Will and no not yet." Elizabeth told him annoyed as she watched the approching balcony overhead. Suddenly, three figures, one in a dress and one she recognized as Will jumped from the balcony and into the waves below.

"Man overboard! Haul them in lads!" Gibbs barked as they watched from the side. Mr. Cotton sent out three ropes to the swimming jumpers to pull them up and over to the deck of the fishing boat. There was Will, Arabella in the aforementioned dress and...

"JACK?" cried Gibbs, the crew and Barbossa.

"DAFT AS HE IS DRUNK! AWRK!" said Mr. Cotton's parrot. Wringing out his sash, Jack said,

"None other...now that where all reaquainted..." He pulled his pistol from his belt and aimed it at Barbossa's face, "WILL SOMEBODY EXPLAIN TO ME WHY THIS MANGY CUR IS STILL BREATHING?" Jack raged. Elizabeth stepped between them,

"Jack...Barbossa was the one who captained this ship to bring us here...Barbossa was the one who recruited Arabella...Barbossa was the one who helped come up with the plan to save you."

Jack hesitated, his finger inching to pull the trigger,

"Why?"

Barbossa shrugged,

"Tia Dalma told me too."

Jack sighed and lowered his gun,

"Touched mate...truly...Now Gibbs let out canvas and make sail before Sao Feng decides to figure out whose ship to sink, Savvy?"

"Sorry Jack...but I'm Captain of this wreck...Gibbs! Make sail and head to Tortuga on the currents!" Barbossa ordered as he made his way to the quarterdeck. Looking ashamed at himself, Gibbs said,

"Aye Cap'n."

Jack sadly watched Gibbs and the crew begin their duties. He saw Arabella, looking even more enticing dripping wet. He said to her,

"Need some help drying off Bell, Darlin'?" She stomped on his foot as he shouted,

"Bugger!"

"Go to hell Jack Sparrow!" Arabella hissed at him before stomping off below deck. Wincing from pain, Jack noticed Pintel and Ragetti smiling stupidly at him.

"Ani't you glad to be alive Cap'n?" Ragetti asked innocently. Jack just glared at them until the took the hint and went away.


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N: Okay when are they going to give us back that little line break thingy? Webmasters! Anywho, inspiration came. Thought I'd update. Review if you want more._**

**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

Lord Cutler Beckett felt victory at hand. Soon he would have all the power of the seven seas. Oh no, you don't think he's going to actually share that power with the EIC do you? Heavens no. He's going to form his own trading company. The one with the fastest ships (using the supernatural ability to travel over sea quickly). He'll be the one to get rid of the pirates in the world with one swoop of a tidal wave. The king might even give Cutler rule over the whole Caribbean. He. The Oxford dropout. He. The failure drummed out of His Majesty's Navy. He. The man overlooked for the position of Governor of Port Royal. He, the man who only found his true calling when offered a position with the EIC. He...future king of the Caribbean.

As he smiled into his glass of port, watching the fire dance in the fireplace, a footstep shook him out of his musings and he grabbed a poker ready to fight. Instead he saw only James Norrington, looking worst than he did when he first came to him with Jones' heart. He was smiling with contempt and behind him was a thin Negro woman in man's clothing glaring at him icily.

"Good evening your Lordship." Norrington said with a slight bow to his head.

"Norrington! You've been hanging out with filthy pirates too long. It would seem you have forgotten how to knock!" Beckett snapped at him. Norrington ignored the way Anamaria narrowed her eyes at Beckett, and stepped forward saying,

"I have done as you asked."

"Wait...why wasn't I notified you had pulled into harbor?" Beckett asked.

"Because Jones sank the Lady Virginia. " Norrington answered plainly.

"What! Then how the devil did you..." Beckett started when Norrington raised up a hand to stop him. Then he pointed out the window and Beckett gasped. There sitting in the harbor, was the mystical Flying Dutchman. It gave off an eerie green glow in the moonlight as Norrington explained to a slack jawed Beckett,

"I'm afraid our new friend is unable to set foot on land for a while, so we'll have to go out to him."

Beckett nodded,

"I'll get ready."

A half hour later he was ready, with Norrington, Anamaria, and half dozen Navy guards. They made their way down to the docks when they came across a sight almost comical. Governor Weatherby Swann, trying to commander a small fishing boat at the dock. A cat meowed, and the wigged man in black clothing shushed him when Beckett spoke up,

"Well, well...what do we have here?"

Governor Swann jumped and spun around to face Beckett, his wrinkled features taking on nervousness, but he stood his ground before him.

"Governor? What is the meaning of this?" Norrington asked not believing one of the men he respected most in this world was trying to steal a ship.

"James...I forgive you for the betrayal of my daughter and future son in law...but I will not betray her either. I thought it over...and I realized something." Swann said.

"And what pray, is that?" Beckett asked, hands behind his back, his mouth twitching with laughter.

"Captain Jack Sparrow...is a good man. And I'd rather be under his rule than under yours Beckett. In the last few weeks I've watched a thriving, prosperous town become corrupt, hungry and violent. And it's my fault. For allowing it to happen. So I will correct my course of actions...with an act of piracy." Swann said with sincerity.

"Piracy itself...can be the right course..." Norrington muttered to himself softly. Only Anamaria heard him. Beckett began clapping condescendingly,

"Bravo...Then it is my duty to arrest you for piracy Swann. But first...there is someone I'd like you to meet."

"And who is that?" Swann asked. Beckett looked over his shoulder and Swann turned with a gasp. Sailing closer, was the Flying Dutchman, Davy Jones watching them from the railing while puffing on his pipe.

**&&&**

"We're going to do what?" Will asked Jack with disbelief. The pirate was seated at the table in Barbossa's cabin, his boots propped up as he told them,

"We're going to retrieve Jones' heart...again...But this time! We'll run it through! Just as you promised your father!"

"But we're also to destroy his lost love? After we find her again?" asked Elizabeth skeptically.

"No offense Jack but this is the daffiest idea you've ever got in your head!" Barbossa said feeding Jack the Monkey a bite of his apple.

"Would that be including the idea I had you'd actually make a good first mate?" Jack quipped. Gibbs stopped the fight before it started,

"Alright now wait a minute! How are we suppose to get any clue as to where this girl of Jones is?"

"Aye Cap'n. Seems to me if she's been alive all this time and Cap'n Jones doesn't know about her, she's pretty good at staying lost." Pintel pointed out.

"WIND IN THE SAILS! WIND IN THE SAILS!" Mr. Cotton's parrot added. Jack said with a shrug,

"Simple. We return to the Blue Bayou and ask Tia Dalma. Once she sets us on the right path, we'll get Jones girl, find the heart, use Jones' girl as bait for Jones...then run the heart through!"

"But you said those Sirens said his love was a witch! And I know the bible says somethin' bout the proper disposal of witches." Ragetti said.

"You can't even read. How do you know what the bible says at all?" Marty asked.

"Well that's what stained glass windows are for ain't it?" Ragetti asked. Elizabeth glanced at Arabella out of the corner of her eye. Dressed once more in her pirate garb, she was leaning against the wall, facing away from the group. The shadows making her seem more and more alone. Jack spoke,

"Then it's settled. Change course to Tia Dalma's!"

"Well!" Arabella finally spoke. "There it is then. I'm sure you'll be happy to see that wench again Jack!" She stomped out, and Jack stood to his feet ready to go after her, but he hesitated. Elizabeth watched with disbelief as remorse and longing filled his eyes but his mouth broke into his famous drunken grin,

"So come then! Changing course!" He watched as the crew turned their heads to Barbossa who was busy examining his nails. Jack sighed in frustration,

"Oh come now! You can't be ruddy telling me you are going to accept HIS command! When you have me back?"

"Well...it is only fair Cap'n...He got to this boat first." Pintel said.

"If we followed that line of logic you would have never marooned me in the first place now would he?" Jack asked as Pintel furrowed his brow.

"Jack..." Will trailed off to Jack with a pointed look. Jack sighed, looking up to the ceiling. Not believing he was going to do this, he addressed Barbossa,

"CAPTAIN Barbossa...I'd like to request a change of course to Tia Dalma's so we can continue our ever lovin' battle for freedom."

Things were silent a minute or two. The crew felt the tension like a gun was about to be shot. Finally Barbossa smiled up at Jack,

"And...?"

Jack sighed,

"And...I promise not to shoot your monkey...and your pet named Jack."

"And?" Barbossa asked.

"And...I shall follow YOUR orders...Captain..." Jack added.

"Permission granted MISTER Sparrow. Gents, Milady. Take in topsail and release foresail, change the course fourteen points north by northeast." Barbossa said standing to his feet and leading the way out of the cabin. Everyone followed, Will pausing a moment when he saw Arabella at the bow of the ship, watching the sea. He approached her and asked,

"Are you alright?"

"No Mr. Turner. I'm not. The hardest thing in the world is to forgive someone you love when they hurt you. I won't be alright till I do." Arabella answered him. Will looked at Elizabeth and said,

"I know the feeling."

"Forgive her now Will Turner. Forgive her while you still love her." Arabella told him.

"You still love Jack, "Will stated. "Can't you forgive him?"

Arabella looked over at Jack who was arguing with Barbossa over who would take the helm, and said,

"If I didn't have so much bitterness inside me. Maybe once I conquer that. But now..." She shook her head and Will moved on to do his work, realizing now why Davy Jones had cut out his heart.


	7. Chapter 7

**_A/N: First order of business...one review and 79 hits for the latest chapter of Princess Diaries? Tsk Tsk people. Might make me not want to update..._**

**_Secondly, this was suppose to be only half of one chappy...but me muse said it was okay to break it in half. Besides...You Jack/Elizabeth shippers will get a fix...: ) weirdos...;) _**

**_Thridly, check out my coming soon at the end of the story. I think you're going to like it..._**

**_Fourth and final, other updates will come. Phantomwalk, Phantom and the Secretary, Temptation, all of that. Just give me some time. Kay?_**

**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

* * *

Weatherby Swann was not having a good day. His daughter and future son in law were who knows where with that Sparrow character. Beckett had full control of Port Royal. Norrington had sided with the enemy and now he was standing in the cabin of a legendary ghost. Davy Jones. His wicked looking and cursed crew had glowered at them as they boarded the ship. One man however, had caught Swann's eye. He was oddly familiar with a sad haunted look to him. Out of all of the crew he looked the most human still. With the exception of a large barnacle growing on the side of his face. When they stepped into the cabin, an eerie music with a haunting melody was being played on a massive and wicked looking organ rising out over their heads like a demon from hell. And Davy Jones was not using his hands...err claw and tentacle respectively. He was using his beard of tentacles. It was a sight Swann would rather forget but knew he never would. Jones stopped suddenly and said softly to them,

"Mr. Norrington tells me you have a proposition for me."

Just as intimidated and terrified, but giving off a calm facade, Beckett said with just a slight pitch to his voice,

"More like an order. Less you want us to destroy your heart and in effect, you."

Jones spun around on the bench he was sitting on and shot fire and ice at Beckett with his eyes. Swann took a step back at this one look of rage. Was this creature ever human? The Governor's eyes sought relief from anywhere. His old eyes rested on a small portrait of a beautiful woman. Perhaps Jones had been human once. Beckett simply smiled, his one useful class in drama at the University paying off.

"You are now in the employ of the East India Trading Company. At least until I make other arrangements...You answer to me. You command the waves of the oceans...and I command you." Lord Beckett said sure of the success of his plan. His expression dropped when Jones started laughing.

"What is so amusing?" asked Norrington suspecting something had gone wrong. Jones calmed himself and stood to his full massive height. He limped over to the wall of charts on his crab leg and said,

"I do have some power over the seas it's true...I had every notion of taking that power from the Daughters of Poseidon. But I needed help. I...once a mere human as yourself could not handle the powers and the tremors that is the breathing life-force that is the world's oceans. No human can. I needed...a witch...I found one...promising to share the rule over the seas with her. She agreed. But...complications...arose...that could not be dealt with."

"You fell in love with her." Swann said simply. The men looked at the Governor as did Jones who bristled his tentacles and said,

"Aye...And my doom was set. She ran off and I haven't seen her since. I believe you all know what happened next."

Everyone looked to Norrington's belt where Davy Jones' heart beat just once for the lost love of it's owner.

"So what are you saying?" Beckett asked exasperated. Jones grinned at this little flea of a mortal and said,

"If you want all the powers of the oceans...you'll have to help me find my other half...Gentlemen."

"That's impossible!" Norrington said.

"Improbable. But...if we go to Captain Sao Feng...he can give us the map I gave him so long ago. The map that made him indebted to me. That he used to gain his...empire." Jones explained with disgust.

"What map is that?" Anamaria asked. Everyone looked at her. But none so more than Jones, who looked enraged at the very sight of her figure and like he wished to burn what was left of his ears so he wouldn't have to hear her feminine voice. Norrington took a subconscious step in front of her a bit, trying to shield her from their penetrating stares. Anamaria tucked a long black strand of hair that was falling in her face behind her ears as Jones answered with a low growl,

"Why...the Map to the Devil's Gate...Missy."

* * *

Elizabeth Swann was not having a good day. Will had barely spoken to her, Jack avoided her like the plague, and Pintel and Ragetti kept getting on her nerves. On top of that, Barbossa kept giving her all the menial labor. She swabbed the decks, stitched sails, fetched tools, and got everyone something to eat or drink. As a girl she thought the life of a pirate was exciting and dangerously fun. And while her short career in piracy was proving that to be true to a degree, so far...it was not all games. Just as Will said. 

She pushed herself off her knees to start dinner in the galley, another one of her 'Duties'. It was down in the narrow hallway of the lower deck that she ran in Jack. He mumbled a

"OhElloLizabethTaTaForNow..." and tried to slip by her again. But Elizabeth caught his arm and pulled him into a small cabin. She closed the door and turned back to hear Jack say,

"Lizabeth...darling, not tonight. I have a headache..."

"Jack...cut the comedy. We need to talk about...what happened." Elizabeth said shifting her weight from one foot to another. Jack sighed and tucked his thumbs into his belt,

"Alright. What do you wish to converse about first? That sensational kiss we shared on the dearly depart Pearl? Or that small insignificant act of leaving me to die and face that wicked beastie all by me onesies? 'Cause both are acts of betrayal if you think about it."

"Will knows." Elizabeth said quietly.

"About which wicked deed you committed, pray tell?" Jack asked.

"Both. He saw the kiss...but I told him about leaving you." Elizabeth told him.

"But you didn't mean to tell him." Jack said with certainty. Elizabeth looked up at him aghast,

"How did you know?"

"Peas in a pod darlin'. I would have done the same thing. I'd rather admit to murder than tell my lover I had gone and loved another." Jack said.

"Is that what happened between you and Arabella?" Elizabeth asked. Jack sighed, his eyes saddened once more,

"Somewhat. I suppose you want to know the whole story, aye?"

"Please?" Elizabeth asked. Jack shrugged and sat on the bunk in the room, his knee bent up, the other leg draped about. He told her,

"I came to the Caribbean as a stowaway. I wished adventure and fortune and as you already know...freedom. First night in Tortuga, I meet Arabella. Her father used to own the Faithful Bride. Her mother had been taken by pirates a year prior. Her father drank, showed apathy towards her. She longed for freedom, adventure and fortune too. We met and fate smiled. We found a certain mystical object that led us to finding a ship, recruiting a crew along the way, and building a reputation as pirate hunters and adventurers."

"I can't imagine you as a pirate hunter." Elizabeth said leaning against the cabin door with a small smile.

"Apparently neither could fate. Our ship ran aground and sank. Arabella and I were the only survivors." Jack said.

"My god..."

"We managed to find an port. I worked on fishing boats for a year. Arabella worked in a dressmaker's shop. It never occurred to us that it was improper for a man and woman to live together without being married. But we were just doing what we had always done. Survive off each other. One day...Arabella comes home crying stubborn tears. She lost her job at the shop cause she mouthed off. I suppose it was the...opportune moment...I simply asked her to marry me. She hit my shoulder and asked 'What took you so bloody long?'" Jack said sharing a laugh with Elizabeth. Jack continued,

"I knew starting a family I couldn't spend the rest of my life as a penniless fisher, nor did I want to. So I looked around for work when I meet Master Cutler Beckett...Agent of the East India Trading Company. He had heard of me and my adventures. Offered me a ship and a captaincy right then and there. Told me I could even own the ship The Wicked Wench myself once I retrieved one small item from an old friend of mine, Tia Dalma."

"Your compass." Elizabeth said with understanding. Jack nodded,

"My compass. When I realized what it did, I knew I couldn't let Beckett get to it. I buried it and tried to tell Beckett Tia had already sold it. But someone told him the truth. Never knew who. Beckett burned The Wench...and branded both me and Arabella as pirates. Confused we returned to Tia asking for guidance. I wanted my ship and my revenge. Tia told me about Jones. Arabella tried to talk me out of it but I didn't listen. I left her in the Bayou for her safety. Once Jones raised the Wench and I re-christened her the Black Pearl...I returned to the Blue Bayou...But Tia's shack was in shambles. She stammered something about a beast taking Arabella. I found this beast...It was eight foot high. Almost wolf like but it stood on it's hind legs...In it's grasp...was Arabella's torn...bloody...dress..." Jack paused blinking back the tears of rage and sorrow he had once felt so long ago..."I tried to kill the beast but it got away. Distraught I returned to Tia's ...and let her seduce me. I left the next morning knowing Arabella was dead...until I saw her on that auction block." Jack finished.

"Didn't you ask her what happened?" Elizabeth asked.

"She won't talk to me. So...now that you know everything there is to know about me...Can you tell me why you kissed and cuffed me...In a way that was less than arousing?" Jack asked his brown depths piercing her very soul. Elizabeth looked to the floor,

"I was scared."

"Of dying? Or...your undeniable attraction to me?" Jack asked. Elizabeth glared at him but remained silent. Jack sighed and leaned forward, both feet resting on the floor. As always, he talked with his hands,

"Look...Elizabeth," She raised an eyebrow when he pronounced her name properly, "You are a very beautiful woman. And as a man I can't help but be attracted to you. That was one bloody hell of a good kiss Luv. I'll tuck that away in my good memories. But your confusion over your feelings for me...is unfounded. We could never be Elizabeth. What we have is pure animal lust mixed with your childhood fantasies of piracy and adventure. Beyond that...we'd bore each other. Now me for example...I had closed my heart to love...Thought it died with Arabella. Now I have a second shot and I'm not going to waste that. You...you still have Will. And no offense to dear William...but I'll bet my last shilling you have to use those talented lips of yours to teach him a thing or two about the fair sex."

Elizabeth sighed, absorbing all what Jack had told her. She folded her arms and said,

"So...You liked the kiss but...?"

"No fireworks Darlin'. Sorry." Jack said with a smile. Elizabeth bit her lip as Jack made to stand up. It took every once of courage but it had to be done. She sprang like a tiger and pushed Jack back on the bed, crashing his lips to hers before he could call out.

* * *

_**A/N: Okay, this is the coming attractions section...slighty inspired by that cool American Express commericial with Kate Winslet. The rest is me own imagination at play.**_

_Lady Luck_

_When she was two she broke an entire shop of mirrors and was cursed with a lifetime of bad luck. When she was sixteen she was disowned when she accidentally burned down her family home. When she was seventeen she was discharged from maid service by spilling a bucket of soapy water and breaking the lady of the house's leg. At eighteen she was accused of murder when she tied a corset too tight while working as a seamstress. By nineteen she was hiding in the slums and working as a bar maid when she was nearly killed for listening in on the wrong conversation. When she was a twenty year old pickpocket, she was jailed at her first attempt. That same year, Captain Jack Sparrow, pirate extraordinaire had the unfortunate luck to fall in love with her at first sight. Now will he win Lucy Waverly 's heart or will her bad luck kill him first? _


	8. Chapter 8

**_A/N: Look at me! I'm updating two stories in one night! I love days off! Well, the character casting call for my new POTC story is on hold until someone teaches me how to make my own website. Any takers? _**

**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

* * *

In his twenty year career as a sailor and a pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow had kissed many women. His first kiss, contrary to the current belief of the crew was not with Arabella but with a very grateful young lass who had been cursed to be a mangy ol' cat. Jack saved her from the curse and had to fight off her very protective older Cajun brother. After Arabella, Jack kissed many other women, trying to find that same spark that had been in her touch and shiver that had gone up and down his spine every time her lips touched his. He tried hundreds of women. The only thing that sent a shiver up and down his spine was when they had slapped him too hard. Elizabeth Swann came close the first time she kissed him, but lying on his back now, poor, inexperienced, but naturally talented Elizabeth was trying her hardest to arouse him. But he stood by his first evaluation. No fireworks. He merely waited until she done. He knew she was done when she pulled back suddenly and whispered,

"You're right..."

"Always am. What am I right about this time?" Jack asked casually. Elizabeth climbed off him and sat on the edge of the bed,

"It was nice and all, but I kept thinking about Will...and that I only want to kiss him...for the rest of my life."

"I know exactly what you mean Luv." Jack said echoing the very words he had said on an island not too long ago. She looked at his face and smiled,

"You knew the whole time didn't you? That's why you tried to seduce me on the Black Pearl."

"Well partly...I figured you might be confusing your reality with your fantasies...but mostly I wanted to bunk ya." Jack said nonplussed. He couldn't fool Elizabeth though. After all, they were just alike.

"You are a good man Captain Jack Sparrow." she said. Jack scoffed, hating sentiment,

"Just don't let it get 'round aye Luv? This blasted honest streak in me has haunted my whole career as a pirate!" He got up and opened the door to leave. But he paused and sighed,

"One more thing Lizabeth...When Barbossa first kidnapped you...Will told me he'd die for you. So don't you go doubting that he's stopped loving you 'cause he's a tiny bit mad at you."

"How do you know I would doubt it?" she asked.

"Peas in a pod Luv." Jack told her softly before walking off toward the deck.

Elizabeth sighed and got up herself to return to her duties. A while later she returned to the deck and walked up to Barbossa who were directing Pintel and Ragetti and told him,

"Supper's ready."

"Well now don't act so cheerful about it Miss Swann!" Barbossa chuckled with his old shipmates. Without batting an eye, Elizabeth said,

"Well considering it's poisoned I figured it would be rude to be happy about it." Pintel, Ragetti and Barbossa stopped laughing, the latter understanding her joke, the former looking at each other in fear. Barbossa tipped his hat to her and called out,

"Grubs on lads! Weigh anchor and take in canvas! Miss Morgan! You keep a sharp eye with Miss Swann here!"

Elizabeth looked nervously at Arabella who was pulling in rope and puffing on one of her cigars, her white shirt billowing in the breeze. Will protested,

"Shouldn't we let the ladies eat first?"

"It ain't our turn to eat Mr. Turner. You go and gather your strength. We'll need it if we're to pull into the Pantano River by nightfall." Arabella spoke up. Will looked at Elizabeth then went down below with the rest of the crew. Gibbs stayed behind a moment to softly tell Arabella,

"Take it easy on the lass ay, Miss Bell?"

"Why do you say that Mr. Gibbs?" Arabella asked innocently.

"Because I had three sisters growin' up an' whenever I saw them with the look you've got in your eye now, I knew trouble was brewing." Gibb told her sternly.

"Go and eat Mr. Gibbs." Arabella ordered coolly. Gibbs nodded and went below, feeling the tension as the two women began to work in silence.

* * *

Norrington watched the ghostly Flying Dutchmen sailing alongside the new ship Beckett had taken for their journey. It was oddly beautiful. It looked like it came from the sea itself with sea weed sails and coral hulls. It glowed green in the moonlight and the stench of death followed behind it. Norrington guessed that was the faithful Kraken. The beast he watched devour the Black Pearl from the cliffs of that cursed island where they had found that cursed chest. The same island he saw only Turner, Elizabeth, Mr. Gibbs the dwarf and mute and those two idiots escape to. Sparrow was nowhere to be found. He was a true Captain then. He went down with his ship. He didn't run off with the treasure the first chance he got. Norrington raised his flask of rum and muttered,

"To you Jack Sparrow."

He took a swallow when a feminine voice said behind him,

"Captain Jack Sparrow."

Norrington turned to see Anamaria joining him by the rail. She too was oddly beautiful in the moonlight. Then he absorbed her words.

"How did you know to correct me about Sparrow...unless..."

"I'm a pirate?" she offered with a smile. He nodded and she replied, "Sometimes. All depends on where the money is."

"This whole time...you know Captain Sparrow?" Norrington asked hardly forming coherent sentences.

"I was there at the Isle de Muerta. I was part of Jack's crew. He promised me a boat. Specifically the Interceptor." Anamaria told him.

"He got her blown up you know." Norrington smirked.

"I watched...stupid blighter...Firsts steal my first boat then blows up my second one!" Anamaria huffed. Then she looked at Norrington, "So are you going to turn me into Beckett?"

"Surprisingly no." Norrington said furrowing his brow. Smiling at his confusion and leaning her back against the railing, she said,

"I knew you wouldn't. Not with you trying to protect me from Jones and his crew all the time."

"Have I?" Norrington said with a small smile.

"You can't help it. You're a gentleman. It's your nature to protect a woman. I'm just saying...well...it's nice to get treated like a lady every once in a while." Anamaria said shifting. Norrington smiled,

"You are a lady. Don't let anyone tell you different." They locked eyes and took in the moment, reflecting on words just said. Then the silence was broken when Beckett joined them on deck,

"Ah, Norrington. There you are. Just the man I wanted to see. I thought before turning in I'd tell you of the decision I've made."

"Decision, my Lord?" Norrington asked respectfully, his hands behind his ramrod straight back.

"Sao Feng may respect and fear Jones, but I need him to respect me as well. I have no doubt I can make him fear me." Beckett said darkly casting a leering glance at Anamaria. Norrington stiffened, eyes hot towards Beckett as he snapped a little impatiently,

"And how exactly are you going to make him...respect...you my Lord?"

"Asians are notorious for respecting men of high rank. Therefore, I'm promoting you Norrington." Beckett said.

"I am to be a Commodore again Sir?" Norrington asked.

"I thought Admiral James Norrington had a better ring to it." Beckett said. Norrington blinked,

"Admiral?"

"You don't have to thank me." Beckett said smiling, "There's a uniform waiting for you in your quarters. And for God's sake, clean up, sober up and shave. You look like a bloody pirate." He chuckled all the way back below deck. Anamaria watched the conflicting emotions play on Norrington's face before he started off towards the lower decks himself. Sensing he needed to talk, Anamaria followed him all the way to his cabin, which he left open a crack. No candles or lamps were to be lit after eight according to the ships articles, but the moonlight illuminated the gold buttons and the glittering medals on the red admiral uniform beautifully. Even the tall black boots seemed to sparkle and shine. There was even a new white powdered wig waiting for a head. Norrington took the uniform in his hands and sighed,

"All my life I worked to be an Admiral."

"You'll be the youngest in the Caribbean I imagine." Anamaria said coming into the room. Norrington scoffed,

"I thought that was what I wanted."

"But it's not what you want anymore is it?" Anamaria stated.

"My father was a sailor in the King's Navy. He was killed by pirates when I was born. He was the same age I am now. He wasn't even a first Lieutenant." Norrington said.

"And now you can't help but think you're fighting on the wrong side?" Anamaria offered as Norrington merely nodded.

"Well...when I'm caught between deciding to starve now and eat later by earning an honest wage or steal some old bird's jewels so I can eat well for six months...I always shove the old lady down figuring she don't need jewels so long as she can eat." Anamaria said.

"When Beckett said I looked like a pirate...I wasn't ashamed." Norrington said.

"Sounds like you have your answer then." Anamaria smiled. Norrington looked up at her,

"We have to get off this ship and find Turner and Elizabeth. Maybe get the Governor to come with us. I can no longer fight on the side of wolves in sheep's clothing."

"Us? What the benefit for me?" Anamaria asked folding her arms.

"You don't expect me to just leave you here with Beckett and Jones? Between the two of them they'll pillage and plunder you!" Norrington exclaimed incredulously.

"I can take care of myself." Anamaria stated stubbornly taking a step towards him.

"I won't allow it." Norrington said stepping closer to her. Anamaria searched his eyes a moment before grabbing his face and attacking his lips to hers. Norrington was wide eyed with surprise a moment, before instinct took over and he closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around her waist and edging her closer to the bunk.

* * *

Arabella was nearing the end of her cigar. She hated to see it end, because it gave her something to do besides talk to that Swann girl. And as much as Arabella was reminded of herself when she had first put out to sea, Miss Elizabeth Swann had helped herself to something that wasn't hers. Something Arabella was still possessive of after all these years. Jack.

Sure enough as soon as Arabella flicked her cigar away in the sea, Elizabeth spoke up,

"So...what happened between you and Jack?"

"What happened between you and Will?" Arabella asked in reply.

"That's none of your business..." Elizabeth started.

"But I already know..."Arabella interrupted with a smile as she worked on some knots, "As you must know about me and Jack."

"He told me he thought you were dead." Elizabeth said.

"Since when does that stop Jack Sparrow?" Arabella asked.

"He was devastated. He thought..."

Arabella interrupted again,

"Look...Just because we're the only women on board, doesn't mean I have to like ye. Which I don't get it? Got it? Good, moving on!"

Arabella made to cross the deck but Elizabeth followed and stopped her,

"I'm only trying to help!"

"You already helped yourself darlin'. An' from what I hears, you helped yourself to a Commodore too before you hooked up with Will. Tell me. Do you just like moving from man to man or do you wait till they come to you?"

This set Elizabeth off. When Arabella walked away, Elizabeth grabbed an old wet rag from a mop bucket and hurled it at Arabella's back.

"Aha!" cried Arabella. Then she turned and glared at Elizabeth. Then she pulled her cutlass from her scabbard,

"You don't want to be starting anything with me Missy..."

"And why is that?" Elizabeth spat unsheathing her own new sword.

"Because I've got twenty years of fighting under my belt and a good thirty pounds on your scrawny hide." Arabella spat. Then Arabella lunged and clashed with Elizabeth's sword, the metal singing off each other. Arabella growled to Elizabeth through gritted teeth,

"Plus...it's my twenty eight day of the month!"


	9. Chapter 9

**_A/N: Happy New Year! This year, I resolve to update more often, finish my current stories before starting any new ones and inspire more fanart! And maybe...just maybe...do some fanart of my own...We'll see. Meanwhile, this chapter is super long and doesn't feature Norrington and Anamaria cause they're...um...preoccupied...and the Flying Dutchman's got a long way to go before it meets up with Sao Feng. But a lot of important stuff happens! Like fluff! We like fluff right? Review!_**

**_peace, love and lipgloss, _**

**_Mlle.Fox_**

* * *

Elizabeth could have sworn Arabella's eyes growled bright red before the older woman pushed her away and lunged her sword near her side. Elizabeth's sword clashed her and met and parried with it for several minutes. Arabella backed Elizabeth up a bit, unly to have Elizabeth swipe at her head, narrowly missing it. This time Elizabeth backed Arabella up to the railing.

Their swords met and Elizabeth pushed Arabella backwards, hoping she would fall overboard. But Arabella gritted her teeth and with amazing force for a woman her size, pushed the young woman back. Then with a flick of her wrist, Arabella freed her whip from her belt and cracked it towards Elizabeth. Elizabeth cried out, but managed to weave and duck, her sword still clashing with Arabella's. But Arabella's whip pulled Elizabeth's sword out of her hand, sending it flying across the deck.

Elizabeth glanced back and forth from her sword to the smug Arabella. Elizabeth waited until Arabella raised her sword to strike before making a dash towards her sword. But Arabella's reflexes were faster. She pulled her whip back and cracked, managing to catch Elizabeth's ankle and sending her crashing down to the deck. Arabella began to pull her back, but Elizabeth raised her other leg up and around, kicking Arabella in the face.

As Arabella shook her head clear of stars, Elizabeth got to her feet and rushed to retrieve her sword. She turned just in time to block Arabella's vicious attack. Arabella was definitely gaining the advantage, cause she was backing Elizabeth into a corner by the railing and the riggings. Elizabeth swiped at Arabella's middle, causing her to step back, giving Elizabeth time to climb up on the railing, her hand firmly holding tight to the rope rigging. But rather than let Elizabeth take advantage of the height, Arabella jumped (to Elizabeth's surprise) and she was on the rigging as well.

They climbed and dueled. Going around the front, hanging upside down, swinging dangerously over the edge until they came up to the yardarm of the mizzen mast. That was when Elizabeth jumped on the yardarm, causing the staysail to swing about, the ship pitching to change direction. Elizabeth hung precariously a moment or two before pulling herself up on the spar, only to gasp as she saw Arabella swing on a rope in her direction.

Below in the galley, the men had gathered round the table. An uncomfortable silence permeated the air. Jack glared at Barbossa every minute or two, and then shifted his eye back to Will, nervous about their upcoming confrontation that was due anytime now. Pintel and Ragetti, never one's for serious silence, began talking quietly amongst themselves.

"The sunrise was red this morning." Ragetti said.

"So what?" Pintel asked taking a sip of grog.

"So red in the mornin', sailor take warning remember? There's a spot of trouble heading our way." Ragetti said.

"Ah poppycock! The rest of that verse says red at night, sailor's delight, true?" Pintel asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, last night, the sunset was red too. Which means we had a pleasant night which we did. Now why would be have a spot of trouble as you say if we had such a pleasant evening beforehand?" Pintel asked as Barbossa rolled his eyes and exchanged a dry look with Gibbs.

"It don't matter none if the previous night was pleasant." Ragetti said.

"Oh yes it does." Pintel argued.

"Prove it." Ragetti said folding his arms.

"It's all gots to do with weather patterns, the currents, humidity and atmospheric conditions see...and..."

Pintel's explaination was cut off by the rolling ship. The men felt the lurch, and grabbed up their glasses so not to spill anything, though a few apples did roll to the floor. Jack set his boots down from the table and looked to the port hole, seeing the changing horizon line. He asked Barbossa,

"Did you order a change in course?"

"No...Did you?" asked Barboosa in return. The men were all silent a moment, before Will jumped up, tipping his chair over as he cried,

"Elizabeth!" The others soon followed behind, all stopping short of crashing into each other as Will paused on the ladder leading up to the main deck, his eyes searching the seemingly empty decks for the two women.

"Arabella?" questioned Jack.

"Elizabeth!" called Will praying she had not gone over into the sea. Suddenly, Mr. Cotton's parrot squawked out with a flap of his wings,

"Raise the Jolly Roger! Awk!"

Marty pointed a chubby little finger up and told them,

"Up there!"

They cast their eyes up, gasping a bit as they saw the two women clashing swords on the mizzen mast yardarm about fifty feet away.

"Miss Elizabeth!" cried Gibbs as they rushed the decks.

"They're practically mauling each other!" Will cried.

Jack gave a slight shrug,

"Girls fight dirty."

Barbossa had enough of this nonsense. He brushed past Will and Jack barking out orders.

"Pintel! Ragetti! Grab the lines! Cotton! Take the tiller and correct our course, but not before I give the word!"

"But if you move that sail they'll plunge to their deaths!" Will barked at him in outrage.

"Not necessarily Mr. Turner." Barbossa said going to a corner of the deck filled with crates and barrels. He rummaged about a moment or two before pulling out a large old stretch of canvas. "Ah! This shall do nicely!" he exclaimed with a smile as his monkey jumped off his shoulder to climb the riggings. He went just below the quarterdeck railing on the main deck. He tossed Jack a bit of the cloth ordering,

"Here Sparrow! Take a corner!"

"Quit bossing me about Barbossa or I'll have to kill ye again." Jack threatened tightlipped as Will took some of the old sail as well and passed some along.

"Then I'll have Tia Dalma raise me up again." Barbossa replied with a cocky grin.

"Then I'll kill ye again. It'll be excellent target practice...like your stupid monkey!" Jack countered with a mad grin.

"Git!" Barbossa spat.

"Betrayer!"

"Loon!"

"Stupidhead!"

"Shut it both of you and pull this canvas tight before **_I _**shoot you both!" Will snapped at them. Jack pouted and Barbossa grumbled about whelps as they set their minds to the tasks of rescuing the fair ladies from well...themselves. Above, Arabella clashed with Elizabeth's sword three times, every time making Elizabeth take a shaky step back. Then Elizabeth backed Arabella up two steps, the pair of them toppling and threatening to send each other crashing to the deck below. The canvas tight, Barbossa met Mr. Cotton's silent waiting gaze and nodded. Mr. Cotton turned the wheel to the right, and the yardarm swung about, making Elizabeth and Arabella drop their swords, and fall back wards towards the decks, both of them screaming all the way.

The men went back and forth a bit, making to catch them, even Marty was holding a bit of the canvas thought it lifted him two feet off the ground. With one more step to the left, they caught the two women who once they realized their safety, went right back to attacking each other! This time, they clawed at each others hair, rolling about the canvas like a pair of fish. The men slacked their grip on the canvas, but as they did, the women rolled off the edge towards poor Marty, who was squished beneath them, pinned to the deck as they continued to fight on top of him. Releashing their hold on the cloth, Barbossa was the first to reach them. He pried Arabella off and to her feet, pushing her away from a fuming Elizabeth sitting on the deck.

"That's enough of that!"

The women caught their breath, chests heaving, before Elizabeth spat out hotly at Arabella,

"Witch!"

"Maggot!" Arabella yelled trying to rush Elizabeth again. This time though, Jack intercepted her and in one swift move lifted her onto his shoulder, slung over like a sack of potatoes. Elizabeth had stood, trying to attack as well, but Will grabbed onto her waist from behind.

"Elizabeth!" he shouted, trying to calm the struggling female down. Nonplussed and casual as the raving redhead beat on his back and kicking her legs, screaming with rage, Jack grinned and said,

"Best to divide and conquer, Savvy?"

"Get those two off my deck! They're not allowed topside till we go out to the swamp tomorrow morn." Barbossa barked angrily.

"Done and done. Mr. Turner. Take your fiance to the galley while I take my fiance to the captain's quarters." Jack said turning on his heel with Arabella still struggling on his shoulder. Gibbs exclaimed a look with Barbossa.

"Fiance?"

"Don't act so bloody surprised Gents." Jack called before disappearing into the cabin. Will shrugged as he drug his own lady below, while Cotton helped a stunned Marty to his feet

"Nothing surprises me about Jack anymore."

"Same here." Gibbs chimed in.

"Ditto." Ragetti said.

"Agreed!" Barbossa nodded.

Meanwhile, Jack just closed the door of the captain's cabin and locked it, Arabella screaming painfully in his ear,

"Jack! Turn me loose!"

"No." he replied simply.

"Jack!"

"Not until Little Bell promises to be a good girl." Jack cooed.

"Oh fine!" Arabella spat going still. Jack nodded and set her on her feet saying,

"That's better. Now Bell..."

She pushed him away, stalking over to the windows of the cabin,

"Don't call me Bell! You only call me Bell when you want something!"

Jack grinned his famous half grin, thumbs hooked into his belt,

"So you do remember."

"Of course I bloody remember! I remember the Barnacle, Tumen, Fitz...hell's bell's I even remember when you started doing your hair that way. But I don't want to remember." Arabella said folding her arms and looking out to sea. She felt rather than saw Jack stalk closer, smelled his heavenly scent of musk right by her ear, his breath tickling her neck,

"Why not Bell?"

She dared to look at him, and her constitution began to crumble. Those dark and soft brown eyes that haunted her dreams stared back at her with such longing and warmth. Her bottom lip quivered as she whispered,

"Damn those eyes...damn them to the depths..."

Jack took an impossible step closer, a small grin on his lips as he stared at hers,

"Why not Bell?"

"Because...because...because it'll make me remember how much I love you...And I don't want to love you...because it hurts too much...and I want to stay mad at you...But...but...I CAN'T!" Arabella said, the last part breaking away to an almost comical sobbing that Jack found absolutely adorable. Only on Arabella it was adorable. He folded her into his arms and sighed happily rubbing her back,

"Welcome back Arabella. Welcome back."

Then he jumped slightly as she blew her nose into his vest. He grimaced then asked,

"Does...this mean you've forgiven me? Cause I'm certainly asking for forgiveness." She nodded and hiccuped,

"Uh-huh..."

"Good! Let's seal this apology with a kiss aye?" Jack said eagerly. Arabella backed away and shook her head,

"I'm not ready yet Jack...not yet."

"Why not?" Jack asked disappointed.

"Jack it's been thirteen years. We're different people than we were. We should get to know each other again." Arabella said. But that wasn't good enough for Jack Sparrow. He knew she was just scared to lose herself to him again. Afraid of getting hurt. But Jack Sparrow being Jack Sparrow, he knew exactly how to get what he wanted. He shrugged and said backing away from her,

"No matter. I imagine your kiss ain't what I remember anyhow."

Arabella sniffled and whipped her runny nose with her sleeve,

"What?"

"Well like you said...it's been thirteen years. For all I know, your kisses may have been one boy's inexperienced imagination working overtime and building them up in his brain. Looking back I have to wonder if they were so great after all." Jack said watching her inner flame flicker on and her temper roar to life again. She came forward, her finger jabbing his chest,

"Now see here...Jacob Timothy Sparrow!"

"Oh cripes...not my whole name..." Jack groaned. Then his eyes widened as she made him step backwards towards the round desk.

"I don't know who you're remembering...but mark my words...it ain't me and I aim to prove it!" she told him.

"And how are you..."

Before he could finish, Jack felt himself being pushed onto the table, Arabella grasping the lapels of his collar and crashing her lips to his. There it was. The thunderbolt. The heat. The desire. The fireworks. They moved as one, desire overcoming anger, hurt, loneliness and betrayal. Jack moved one hand to her neck, the other around her waist and dangerously close to her luscious backside. They inhaled through their noses, Jack tilting his head to deepen the kiss. When they broke apart for air, Jack said huskily,

"Bugger I missed you!"

Their lips met again, Jack's leg coming up to pull her closer to his aching body, when a voice cleared his throat at the door. They broke apart and looked up at the door, seeing a rather bored Barbossa with his grinning monkey Jack.

"We're dropping anchor. We could use your help Sparrow."

"Course. I shall be there momentarily mate." Jack told him looking at his old first mate upside down, his hair dangling over. Barbossa nodded to Arabella,

"Arabella."

"Hector." Arabella nodded as he left. Jack sighed happily, sitting up and caressing her neck with both sides of his hands. He brushed her lips with his before saying,

"Don't move...Don't move...Wait here and I'll be right back with some food and some rum...and tonight...we're going to make up for lost time Savvy?"

"Savvy." Arabella sighed rubbing her nose with his. Jack grinned and got to his feet and gave her a few departing pecks on the lips before going out the door. Arabella sighed and rubbed her arms, unable to fight off the smile on her lips. But that smile faded the moment she saw the scene outside. The sun was setting, a heavy fog was rolling in and the moon was rising. A full moon.

"No...no...not now! Not tonight!" she whispered to herself in fear as she looked to the door and the latch.

Below deck, Will silently treated Elizabeth's many scraps and injuries sustained in the fight. Elizabeth was miserable. She wanted him to lecture, to scream, to shout, anything but the silent treatment. She quietly asked him,

"Are you angry with me?"

"For nearly getting yourself killed? No, I think I'm getting used to it." Will said.

"I'm sorry. About everything. Jack, the kiss, the kraken, the Pearl, Arabella...us..." Elizabeth said. Will sighed and examined her begging eyes and her quivering lips a moment before saying,

"You know...right after we thought Jack was dead, I had thought to let you be with Jack if that was what you truly wanted."

"You did? Why?" Elizabeth asked.

"To make you happy." Will said but then he put on a mischievous smirk, a smirk he could have only learned from a certain pirate,

"But then I realized that if Jack were in my boots, he wouldn't give you up so easily. I decided to take what was mine. And that's you."

"Will..." Elizabeth started stunned at his newfound boldness. He shushed her and claimed her lips with his own, soft, firm and desirous. Elizabeth smiled through the kiss, crying happy tears, when they were interrupted by Jack coming down into the galley humming and whistling a merry version of 'A Pirate's Life for Me'. They stared curiously at the more than chipper pirate as he filled up a plate of food and grabbed one bottle for rum, then changing his mind and going back for two. They watched confused as he headed back up to the main deck, a skip in his step.

But Jack slowed as he got topside when he heard a lonely howling over the waters. All his experience with the supernatural had taught him to be wary of such sounds, so he went to Gibbs and asked,

"What goes?"

"Started a few minutes ago Cap'n. There's a dark presence lurking nearby. Be it in the seas or on the nearby shore is hard to say...but something's out there mark my words. Something dangerous and evil...and hungry for blood." Gibbs said, his old suspicious eyes scanning the seas. Pintel and Ragetti exchanged a lot and a gulp as Jack said, undeterred,

"Well, if you'll need me, I shall be retiring to the cabin."

"With Miss Arabella too I wager." Barbossa suggested giving him a knowing look. Jack grinned back at him, unable to resist a little dig,

"Too bad you ain't got that curse on ye still Barbossa. Must be hell knowing there's a practical reason why you are not getting the attentions of a lovely female. Speaking of which, if you'll excuse me Gents...a certain redhead awaits me...with open arms!"

And with that Jack turned to the cabin, ready to enter and have the time of his life when he was stopped. The handle wouldn't turn. It was locked from the inside. Jack knocked on the door and called within,

"Arabella! Sweetheart! Let Daddy in!"

"Jack...Go away..."Arabella called out miserably through the door. Jack cast a nervous grin to the smug Barbossa and the waiting crew. Then he knocked harder on the door calling sweetly,

"Bell! Come on and open the door for Jacky!"

"No!"

"Arabella! You're embarrassing me!" Jack chuckled.

"Go away Jack!" came Arabella's muffled yell to a confused Jack.

"Too bad you weren't taken by the kraken Jack. Must be hell knowin' there's a practical reason why you are not gaining the attentions of a lovely female." Barbossa said with a laugh threatening to erupt from him.

"Oh shut it!" Jack snapped at him before he continued to pound on the door. Gibbs and the crew turned their heads to hear the howling creature close by.


	10. An Author's Tale

**_The waves crashed upon the small brig that was coasting over the navy blue waters. It was nighttime, and only a lone candle was lit from within the captain's cabin. And inside...you would find me...Mlle. Fox Authoress Extrodiaire. Did I even spell that right? _**

**_Anywho, I was typying away on my imaginary laptop computer. Trying to piece together the few remaining chapters of each story I had in the works. On my mind currently, was my version of At World's End. After seeing the trailer and the website for the real movie, I was beginning to wonder if my tale even measured up. I sighed, letting my chin rest in my hand. I cast my eyes randomly round the room, when a movement of shadows came from the corner. Sensing someone's presence, I stood to my feet and retrieved my pistol._**

**_"Who's there? Show yourself." I said, my voice convincingly brave. From the darkness, out stepped, _**

**_"Bootstrap? Bill Turner?" I said echoing the very words Jack Sparrow used himself._**

**_"Time's up Lass." his deep gravely voice said._**

**_"For what?" I asked._**

**_"We gave you the chance to write your own version of our story Fox...but you hit a reef and crashed." Bootstrap said._**

**_"It's just a little writer's block." I began to protest._**

**_"You can't talk your way out of this one." Bill said._**

**_"Okay seriously? We really need to stop quoting the movie here." I said with my hand on my hip. Bootstrap gave a ghost of a smile (no pun intended). Even the barnacles growing on his face seemed to be laughing silently._**

**_"You realize you've only mentioned me once? And I didn't even talk." he said with a slight chuckle._**

**_"I was going to bring you back in the story..." I said dejectedly._**

**_"We have something for you. Something to help you." Bill said stepping forward. He grabbed my wrist with his cold pale hand and I began to object, _**

**_"Oh no! I don't need any kalamari chasing my butt to inspire me!" _**

**_Then to my wonder, he placed a small, red, paperback book in my hand. Glancing at the title and the familiar skull and crossbones, I gasped. My face screwed up with delight and I squealed, _**

**_"The junior novelization of 'At World's End'! With pictures!" _**

**_"Well the movie is just a little over a month away." Bill said._**

**_"Thank you! Thank you so much!" I said flipping through the pages._**

**_"Thank me by starting over. From the beginning. You can add Arabella where you want...but stick to the plot outlined in this book." Bootstrap said tapping the book._**

**_"Won't the fans get upset?" I asked._**

**_"Let them decide which version they like better. Your incomplete version at the beginning of the story or the completed movie version with your added character. But first write it out before you post." Bootstrap warned me. As he turned to go, I called after him, _**

**_"You know this totally spoils the third movie!" _**

**_"Hey...it's Disney who published the novel first...Besides...you get to play around with the ending." Bootstrap shrugged before beginning to dissolve into the shadows. Suspicion dawning on me, I flipped to the last chapter and read a moment or two before crying out in upset, frantically flipping the pages, _**

**_"Hey! Where's the ending? They left off the ending!" _**

**_"Pirates." Bootstraps voice echoed from the shadows. I was alone once more. I sat at my computer again, reading closely, then eyeing my keyboard. I slowly grinned._**


End file.
